House bill would lock U.S. bitcoin in 20-year reserve

A bipartisan bill introduced Thursday in the House would place U.S. government bitcoin into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for at least 20 years and create a separate Digital Asset Stockpile for other cryptocurrencies held by the federal government. The legislation drops earlier language that set a target to acquire 1 million BTC and instead directs long-term management of existing holdings.

The measure, called the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, was introduced by Rep. Nick Begich (R‑Alaska) with Rep. Jared Golden (D‑Maine) as co-lead. It would bar the government from selling, swapping, auctioning, encumbering or otherwise disposing of bitcoin placed in the reserve for two decades. Once the 20-year lockup ends, the Treasury secretary could recommend selling up to 10% of the reserve’s assets in any two-year period.

ARMA does not set a fixed acquisition target. The bill directs the Treasury and Commerce departments to study whether additional bitcoin purchases could be made through budget-neutral mechanisms and to outline acceptable methods for growing the reserve. Possible acquisition methods listed in the bill include converting non-bitcoin federal assets, revaluing gold certificates, adding proceeds from forfeiture cases, using certain tariff revenues and forming partnerships with state governments.

The draft requires federal agencies to provide a full accounting of digital assets under their control within 60 days of enactment. It also calls for quarterly public proof-of-reserve reports, independent audits and expanded congressional oversight to document holdings and transactions.

Rep. Mike Rulli, a co-sponsor from Ohio, described the bill as a long-term approach to holding bitcoin, saying, “America should not be selling off strategic digital assets. We should be securing them for the future.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has previously explained the administration’s handling of seized crypto, noting, “The policy of this government is to add seized bitcoin to our digital asset reserve after the damages are done,” and that the government had stopped selling such assets.

The reserve idea follows a 2025 executive order directing the creation of a national bitcoin stockpile and a separate digital asset stockpile. Much of the initial funding for the stockpiles is expected to come from cryptocurrencies already held by the federal government through criminal and civil forfeiture. Unofficial estimates place the current value of U.S. government crypto holdings at roughly $26 billion, composed mainly of bitcoin, ether and USDT.

If enacted, the bill would formalize a long-term holding policy for bitcoin and set reporting and audit rules for federal digital assets while leaving acquisition options open for further study.