New bipartisan legislation introduced in the House on Thursday would lock U.S. government bitcoin holdings into a strategic reserve for at least twenty years. It is the latest congressional push to codify President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order to establish a national bitcoin stockpile.
The bill’s author, Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, alongside co-lead Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, introduced the “American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026,” or ARMA, to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and separate Digital Asset Stockpile for non-bitcoin assets held by the federal government and managed by the Treasury.
ARMA would require all bitcoin (BTC) deposited into the reserve to sit there for a minimum of 20 years, barring the government from “selling, swapping, auctioning, encumbering, or otherwise disposing of” the assets for any reason. After the lockup period expires, the Treasury secretary could then recommend selling up to 10% of the reserve’s assets in any two-year period.
“America should not be selling off strategic digital assets. We should be securing them for the future,” Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “This bill takes a long-term approach by requiring the United States to responsibly hold Bitcoin as part of a modern reserve strategy.”
The legislation builds on Trump’s executive order signed last year to create a bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile, mostly funded through bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies already held by the federal government through criminal and civil forfeitures. This plan was reaffirmed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in January. “The policy of this government is to add seized bitcoin to our digital asset reserve after the damages are done,” Bessent commented at the time. “So the bitcoin reserve, our view, was first you have to stop selling, which we have done, and then we can add the assets and asset forfeitures.”
Unlike earlier BITCOIN Act proposals that discussed acquiring up to 1 million bitcoin over five years, the ARMA draft gives no exact target and instead directs Treasury and Commerce to study whether additional acquisitions could be carried out through “budget-neutral” mechanisms. The bill lists potential acquisition methods, like converting non-bitcoin assets, gold certificate revaluations, forfeiture proceedings, tariff revenues, and partnerships with states.
The bill would also require federal agencies to provide a full accounting of digital assets under their control within 60 days of enactment. Unofficial data from Arkham Intelligence pegs the current value of all U.S. government crypto holdings at roughly $26 billion, largely comprised of bitcoin, ether, and USDT. ARMA would also establish quarterly public proof-of-reserve reports, independent audits, and other congressional oversight to keep things transparent.
[The Block]
Executive Summary (TL;DR)
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve legislation institutionalizes long-term government BTC accumulation while eliminating aggressive purchase targets, creating artificial scarcity and signaling acceptance of Bitcoin as sovereign collateral.
The Core Friction
The shift from a concrete 1 million BTC target to ambiguous “budget-neutral” acquisition methods reveals the political reality that direct federal Bitcoin purchases face significant resistance. The 20-year lockup period represents a compromise—appearing to commit to long-term strategic value while avoiding immediate market disruption. This isn’t about acquiring Bitcoin at current prices; it’s about establishing future monetary flexibility when the government inevitably needs to leverage these digital assets against sovereign debt or in response to dollar destabilization.
Market Impact & Chain Reaction
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Short-term: The elimination of massive purchase targets removes immediate upside pressure, but the institutional validation and lockup period create a strong psychological floor for BTC prices around $30-40k. Existing government holdings (~$26B) now represent a strategic anchor rather than a potential dump.
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Mid-term: This legislation accelerates Bitcoin’s transition from speculative asset to sovereign strategic reserve, potentially triggering similar policies in other nations and creating a race for national Bitcoin stockpiles. The artificial scarcity effect from locked government holdings could disproportionately benefit miners and early adopters during the next halving cycle.
RichSilo Verdict
Smart money should monitor the implementation mechanisms and acquisition methods most closely, as these will determine the actual market impact. The real value lies in watching how this policy influences other nations’ reserve strategies and whether the U.S. can establish Bitcoin as de facto collateral for Treasury operations—effectively monetizing the digital holdings without direct sales.
