Bitcoin Gains on US Defense Endorsement, ETF Outflow Pause
Bitcoin (BTC) price climbed about 2% to $77,108.65, outpacing a flat broader market, primarily driven by a pause in institutional selling pressure.
A halt to ETF outflows and easing derivatives pressure, with spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing a modest $14.76 million inflow after three days of heavy selling.
After three consecutive days of net outflows totalling nearly $500 million, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a modest net inflow of $14.76 million on April 30.
Concurrently, derivatives data show a 65.75% drop in 24h liquidations to $49.29 million, indicating a significant reduction in forced selling.
The shift from sustained outflows to even a small inflow suggests the wave of institutional profit-taking or caution may be abating, removing a key source of downward pressure.
Bitcoin is trading above its 30-day Simple Moving Average (SMA 30) at $76,288, providing a foundation for the bounce. The price action is finding support within its recent range, and the rise in dominance suggests Bitcoin is regaining its role as a relative safe haven during uncertain periods.
The US Defense Secretary has openly framed Bitcoin as a strategic national security tool and confirmed its integration into select defense and cybersecurity programs.
U.S. officials say the Pentagon runs Bitcoin nodes and tests the protocol in classified operations aimed at power projection and cybersecurity.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has publicly endorsed Bitcoin (BTC), stating that the Defense Department is integrating it into defense strategies, including classified programs that “enable or defeat” Bitcoin in various scenarios.
In Congressional testimony, Hegseth described Bitcoin as a strategic asset and confirmed that ongoing Bitcoin-related initiatives provide the U.S. with leverage, particularly in competition with China.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate that the military “has a node on the Bitcoin network” and is testing Bitcoin for cybersecurity and power projection uses.
This is a clear shift from seeing Bitcoin mainly as an illicit finance risk to viewing it as critical digital infrastructure. Officials explicitly link Bitcoin’s architecture, mining and node network to secure communications and cyber defense.
Reports also reference discussions about a potential U.S. “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” putting BTC in the same conversation as gold or oil in geoeconomic strategy.
At the same time, a U.S. Representative has called Bitcoin a “geopolitical weapon,” noting that Iran, North Korea and China all use or accumulate BTC, which pushes Bitcoin deeper into national security calculations on every side.
Bitcoin is increasingly treated as strategic infrastructure, which supports long-term legitimacy but also invites closer surveillance, regulation and potential pressure on parts of the ecosystem that touch nation-state conflict. XRP Price Slides to $1.36, Ripple Stablecoin Lists on OKX
