Bitcoin reserve bill clears House panel 28-21

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee has advanced legislation to place the federal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into law, voting 28-21 on Sept. 16 to report the amended H.R. 8957 favorably.

The House Financial Services Committee’s official markup record lists the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 among the measures considered Wednesday and identifies a substitute amendment from Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin. The substitute was adopted by voice vote before the committee approved the amended bill in recorded vote FC-317.

Introduced on May 21 by Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska with Rep. Jared Golden of Maine as co-lead, ARMA would create a statutory Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile inside the Treasury Department. Begich’s office said at introduction that the measure was designed to centralize federal digital-asset custody and require government accounting of the assets.

Bitcoin reserve bill would impose a 20-year holding period

Under the committee substitute published by the House, the Treasury secretary would establish the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for qualifying federal Bitcoin and a separate stockpile for qualifying non-Bitcoin digital assets. The reserve would cover Bitcoin that has been finally forfeited through criminal or civil proceedings or obtained through certain civil penalties, subject to existing legal claims and forfeiture requirements.

Bitcoin deposited into the reserve would have to remain there for at least 20 years from enactment. During that period, the bill says the assets could not be sold, swapped, auctioned, encumbered or otherwise disposed of. Two years before the holding period ends, Treasury would have to send Congress recommendations on whether the government should continue holding the assets or permit a controlled release.

After the 20-year period, the Treasury secretary could recommend selling up to 10% of reserve assets during any two-year period. The bill directs Treasury to consider the national deficit, Bitcoin’s long-term viability, possible market effects and the federal government’s financial position when making such recommendations.

Within one year of enactment, Treasury would separately study conditions under which Congress might permit sales before the 20-year period expires, including circumstances involving national security or financial stability. The amended language calls for legislative recommendations rather than giving Treasury an automatic exception.

Rep. Begich has argued that government Bitcoin should not “languish in fragmented and inconsistent custody.” House Financial Services Chairman French Hill described the measure during Wednesday’s markup as bringing federally held assets under “Treasury custody and consistent oversight.” Those statements represent the lawmakers’ stated rationale for the legislation.

Committee amendment changes Bitcoin reporting requirements

The version advanced Wednesday differs from the original H.R. 8957 in several areas. Earlier text called for quarterly public proof-of-reserve reports, which was reflected in crypto.news coverage when ARMA was introduced.

Steil’s adopted substitute changes that schedule. Treasury would publish an annual report giving details on reserve holdings, transactions and control of private keys. An independent third-party auditor with cryptographic-attestation expertise would verify the report, while the U.S. Comptroller General would conduct continuing oversight.

Federal agencies would face separate accounting requirements. Within 60 days of enactment, and annually afterward, agency heads would have to provide Treasury with a complete accounting of Bitcoin and other digital assets they hold, have seized or otherwise control.

Before the reserve and stockpile are formally established, agencies would transfer qualifying assets to Treasury where practicable and consistent with existing law. Once the structures exist, qualifying holdings remaining elsewhere would have to be transferred within 30 days using custody procedures intended to preserve traceability and auditability.

The bill preserves exceptions tied to existing forfeiture law. During the interim custody period, qualifying Bitcoin or other qualifying digital assets generally could not be sold or encumbered, except when required by law, ordered by a court, needed for national security or returned to identifiable crime victims.

ARMA would study new Bitcoin purchases without authorizing them

The amended legislation does not order Treasury to buy a fixed quantity of Bitcoin. Treasury and Commerce would instead receive 180 days to study the risks, costs and possible benefits of acquiring additional $BTC using budget-neutral methods.

Potential mechanisms listed in the committee text include transactions involving non-Bitcoin assets from the Digital Asset Stockpile, Bitcoin received through forfeitures or settlements, and cooperative arrangements involving states, private entities or international partners. Any proposal would have to be assessed for its full cost to taxpayers, the federal government and the national debt.

The substitute expressly says the study does not authorize borrowing, new taxation, deficit spending or pledging federal assets as collateral to finance Bitcoin purchases. Treasury and Commerce would submit their report to relevant House and Senate committees within 180 days.

That structure differs from the separate BITCOIN Act introduced previously by Begich and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, which proposed acquiring 1 million $BTC over five years. As crypto.news previously reported, ARMA dropped a fixed one-million-Bitcoin acquisition target and centered its approach on the 20-year holding requirement and a budget-neutral acquisition study.

States would have another option under ARMA. Within one year of enactment, Treasury would establish a voluntary program allowing states to store their own Bitcoin in segregated accounts inside the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Participating states would retain title to their Bitcoin and related forked or airdropped assets and would pay for services provided through the program.

The latest committee text therefore does not say states would store their Bitcoin at the Federal Reserve. It places the program within the Treasury-run Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Trump’s existing reserve rests on a 2025 executive order

President Donald Trump established the current Strategic Bitcoin Reserve through a March 6, 2025 executive order. The order directed Treasury to create the reserve with finally forfeited Bitcoin and said $BTC deposited into it should not be sold. It created a separate U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile for non-Bitcoin assets.

The order instructed federal agencies to account for their digital-asset holdings and permitted Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional Bitcoin. A subsequent White House digital-assets report said Treasury had delivered legal and investment considerations concerning the reserve and was continuing work with other federal officials on implementation.

ARMA would place many elements of that framework into federal statute if enacted. Unlike an executive order, the resulting provisions could not simply be rescinded through a later presidential executive action; changes to the statute would generally require another act of Congress. The proposed legislation, however, has not become law.

Public estimates of federal Bitcoin holdings should remain separate from an official reserve accounting.Arkham’s August research identified roughly 325,000 $BTC across addresses it associates with the U.S. government. Arkham’s figures are on-chain estimates, not a Treasury audit, and government-linked wallets can contain assets with different forfeiture, restitution or custody statuses.

public wallet trackers cannot establish the precise size of the statutory reserve because some government-controlled assets may remain subject to legal claims or restitution requirements. No public Treasury proof-of-reserve report equivalent to the reporting contemplated by ARMA has established the 325,000 $BTC figure as the reserve’s official balance.

H.R. 8957 now awaits further House action

The committee adopted Steil’s replacement text by voice vote and rejected a separate amendment offered by Ranking Member Maxine Waters by 21-28 before voting 28-21 to report H.R. 8957 favorably as amended. The committee proceeding identifies the final vote as FC-317.

Committee approval is not passage by the House. H.R. 8957 still requires consideration and approval by the full House, passage by the Senate in identical form, and the president’s signature before its provisions could take effect. No full-House passage had occurred in the official records reviewed on Sept. 17.

If enacted in its current committee-approved form, Treasury would face several statutory deadlines: a 60-day federal asset accounting, establishment of the reserve and stockpile within 180 days, a 180-day budget-neutral acquisition study, and creation of the voluntary state custody program within one year.