Lawmakers pass bill to freeze federal Bitcoin holdings for two decades

The House Financial Services Committee advanced legislation to put a federal Bitcoin reserve into statute on Sept. 16, approving a framework that would require a 20-year holding period and annual independently audited reporting.

The panel voted 28–21 to report H.R. 8957 favorably, moving the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 beyond its introduction stage. The measure still requires further legislative action before its proposed custody and holding rules can become law.

The legislative effort builds on an existing executive-policy framework. President Donald Trump’s March 6, 2025 order directed the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and separate digital asset stockpile, restricted disposal subject to legal exceptions, and instructed Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral acquisition strategies.

Sponsored by Rep. Nicholas Begich of Alaska, ARMA would establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile within the Treasury Department. Its immediate focus is how Washington holds and accounts for assets it owns. Additional Bitcoin acquisition is addressed through a study.

The committee adopted Rep. Bryan Steil’s substitute by voice vote and rejected an amendment from Rep. Maxine Waters, 21–28, according to the markup record. The decision follows the vote CryptoSlate previewed on Sept. 15.

A 20-year hold and audited Treasury custody

The adopted substitute would bring qualifying federal Bitcoin into the reserve and place other qualifying digital assets in the separate stockpile. Assets legally required for other purposes are excluded, so the proposal does not treat every asset held or seized by an agency as available reserve property.

That distinction matters to the scale of the policy. Custody of a digital asset and eligibility to retain it in the reserve are different questions. The bill’s framework applies to qualifying government-owned holdings rather than establishing a reserve balance from everything an agency controls.

Section 5 would require Bitcoin deposited in the reserve to remain there for at least 20 years from enactment, regardless of how it was acquired. During that minimum period, the text prohibits selling, swapping, auctioning, encumbering or otherwise disposing of the Bitcoin.

The clock is tied to enactment, rather than the date of each deposit. The committee vote therefore does not start the holding period.

The substitute also calls for Treasury to submit a study within one year of enactment addressing possible conditions for early sales and legislative recommendations for exceptions. That provision asks for recommendations; it does not itself grant permission to ignore the holding requirement.

Together, those provisions would make retention a defined obligation while leaving any proposed early-sale exceptions for a separate legislative decision.

In prepared remarks for the markup, committee Chairman French Hill described the bill as bringing digital assets held across federal agencies under Treasury custody and consistent oversight.

The proposed reporting system would make that custody subject to recurring checks. Section 6 would require public cryptographic proof of reserves, an annual report covering holdings, transactions and control of private keys, and verification by an independent third-party auditor. The Comptroller General would regularly oversee the reserve, reports and audits.

The operational deadlines use separate triggers. Agencies would provide Treasury with a complete accounting of their Bitcoin and other digital assets within 60 days of enactment, then annually. Qualifying holdings would transfer into the reserve or stockpile within 30 days after those structures are established.

These requirements address both the inventory and its administration: identifying what agencies control, determining what qualifies, consolidating custody and checking the resulting reports.

Buying more Bitcoin remains a study

Section 9 would give Treasury and Commerce 180 days from enactment to study the risks, costs and potential benefits of acquiring additional Bitcoin, including whether acquisitions could be budget neutral. That is a study requirement, not an established purchase program.

ARMA would give the reserve a statutory framework, with specified holding and oversight obligations. Its next legislative test is whether Congress will enact those obligations, while the acquisition study would leave the cost and feasibility of expanding the holdings to further examination.