USA Bitcoin Reserve Bill Passes House Committee
BITmarkets Team
Sep 21, 2026
The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (H.R. 8957) cleared the US House Committee on Financial Services in a 28-21 vote. The legislation would create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile within the Department of the Treasury to hold Bitcoin and other digital assets obtained by the federal government through criminal or civil forfeiture.
“We cannot allow Bitcoin to be held by the federal government to languish in fragmented and inconsistent custody,” said US Representative Nicholas Begich, who introduced the bill on May 21. “It poses unacceptable cybersecurity risks and fails to give an adequate accounting of what the federal government actually owns.”
Strategic Bitcoin reserve could require 20-Year holding period
The legislation would move the US closer to formally establishing Bitcoin as a long-term component of federal government reserves. According to Arkham Intelligence estimates, the US government currently holds 324,527 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $24.7 billion at the time of writing.
Under the proposed legislation, Bitcoin placed in the federal reserve would need to be held for at least 20 years. Federal agencies would also be required to provide a complete accounting of digital assets held or controlled by the government. Additional transparency requirements would include quarterly “proof of reserve” reports and independent third-party audits.
Bill includes plans for expanding Bitcoin holdings
The legislation would require a study into budget-neutral strategies that could be used to expand the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. It would also allow individual states to store their Bitcoin with the Federal Reserve. The bill additionally addresses private Bitcoin ownership and self-custody rights, describing control over private keys as “fundamental to the principles of financial sovereignty, privacy, and personal liberty in the digital age.”
Bitcoin Policy Institute executive director Connor Brown called the committee vote a “genuinely historic step for Bitcoin policy.” Strive CEO Matt Cole previously described the proposal in May as “the single most important crypto legislation that can come out of DC.”
Legislation still faces House and Senate votes
Approval by the House Financial Services Committee represents another step in the legislative process, but the proposal has not yet become law. The bill must still secure approval from the full House of Representatives and Senate before it can be sent to the president for consideration.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-bitcoin-reserve-bill-passes-house-committee
https://x.com/BitcoinConner/status/2100358169839243676
