Key Takeaways
The American Reserve Modernization Act (H.R. 8957) passed the House Financial Services Committee on September 16, 2026 in a 28 to 21 vote.
The bill would put President Trump's executive order for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into law and require federally held bitcoin, acquired through criminal or civil forfeiture, to be held for at least 20 years.
The US government holds an estimated 324,527 bitcoin, worth about $24.7 billion, and the bill would add quarterly proof of reserve reports and third-party audits.
A bill to make a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve permanent cleared its first real hurdle this week. The American Reserve Modernization Act passed the House Financial Services Committee 28 to 21, Cointelegraph reported. Introduced in May by Representative Nicholas Begich, the bill would codify President Trump's executive order and set up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve plus a separate Digital Asset Stockpile inside the Treasury for federally held bitcoin and other digital assets picked up through forfeiture.
The numbers give it weight. The government already holds an estimated 324,527 bitcoin, worth around $24.7 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence. Under the bill that bitcoin would have to be held for at least 20 years, and every federal agency would have to give a full accounting of what it controls, backed by quarterly proof of reserve reports and third-party audits. The measure also directs a study of budget-neutral ways to buy more, lets states store their bitcoin at the Federal Reserve, and affirms the right to self-custody.
The pattern here is hard to ignore. This advances just days after the CLARITY Act failed in the Senate, a sign that crypto policy is moving through Washington one narrow bill at a time rather than one sweeping law. The proof of reserve and audit language echoes the transparency push WYDE covered when Wyoming added Chainlink Proof of Reserve to its FRNT stablecoin. Committee approval is a start, not a finish. The bill still needs the full House and the Senate before it reaches the president's desk.
People Also Ask
What is the American Reserve Modernization Act?
It is a US bill (H.R. 8957) that would codify a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile in the Treasury, holding federally owned bitcoin acquired through forfeiture for at least 20 years.
Did the US pass a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve law?
Not yet. The bill passed the House Financial Services Committee on September 16, 2026 in a 28 to 21 vote, but it still needs to pass the full House and the Senate.
How much bitcoin does the US government hold?
The federal government holds an estimated 324,527 bitcoin, worth about $24.7 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence, largely from criminal and civil forfeiture.
What transparency would the bill require?
It would require a full accounting of federal digital asset holdings, quarterly proof of reserve reports, and third-party audits, and it affirms private self-custody rights.