A new bipartisan bill introduced in the US House of Representatives would establish a formal strategic Bitcoin reserve for the US government — but with a significantly more conservative structure than previously proposed legislation, dropping the ambitious target of purchasing 1 million Bitcoin in favor of a 20-year lock-up on existing government holdings and a budget-neutral approach to any future accumulation.
The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, known as ARMA, was introduced by Representatives Nick Begich and Jared Golden. It represents the most concrete legislative step yet toward formalizing the US government's Bitcoin holdings as a strategic national asset — while deliberately avoiding the fiscal commitments that made earlier proposals more politically contentious.
What ARMA proposes
Under ARMA, all Bitcoin currently held by the US government — primarily seized through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings — would be placed into a strategic reserve and locked for a minimum of 20 years. During that period, the Bitcoin cannot be sold, exchanged, auctioned, mortgaged, or otherwise disposed of under any circumstances.
After the 20-year lock-up period expires, the Secretary of the Treasury may recommend selling up to 10% of reserve assets within any two-year window — a gradual and limited release mechanism designed to prevent the kind of large-scale government Bitcoin sales that have historically created downward price pressure when seized assets were auctioned.
The bill also requires federal agencies to disclose all digital asset holdings within 60 days of enactment, implement quarterly reserve proof disclosures, conduct independent third-party audits of Bitcoin holdings, and submit to congressional oversight — transparency mechanisms designed to give the public and lawmakers ongoing visibility into the size and security of the reserve.
How ARMA differs from the BITCOIN Act
The key distinction between ARMA and the previously proposed BITCOIN Act is the elimination of a specific purchase target. The BITCOIN Act had called for the US government to acquire 1 million Bitcoin within five years — a proposal that generated significant attention but also significant political resistance given the fiscal implications of purchasing approximately $75 billion to $80 billion worth of Bitcoin at current prices.
ARMA takes a different approach. Rather than requiring new purchases, it focuses on formalizing and protecting existing government holdings while instructing the Treasury and Commerce Departments to study ways to increase holdings through budget-neutral means — methods that would not require direct congressional appropriations. That framing makes the bill considerably easier to advance politically, removing the most contentious fiscal element while preserving the strategic intent.
A separate independent digital asset inventory would also be established under the bill to manage non-Bitcoin crypto assets held by the federal government — creating a parallel structure for the broader digital asset holdings that the government has accumulated through forfeiture.
Why the 20-year lock-up matters
The 20-year holding requirement is the bill's most significant structural feature. It directly addresses one of the primary criticisms of government Bitcoin holdings — that seized assets would eventually be sold into the market through auctions, creating recurring supply overhangs. By legally prohibiting disposal for two decades, ARMA would effectively remove the US government's estimated Bitcoin holdings from market supply for a generation.
The US government currently holds an estimated 200,000 or more Bitcoin from various forfeiture cases, including the Silk Road seizure and the Bitfinex hack recovery. At current prices around $74,720, those holdings represent approximately $15 billion in assets. Locking that supply away for 20 years while simultaneously signaling that the government views Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset sends a meaningful long-term signal to markets — even without any new purchases.
Market implications
ARMA's introduction arrives at a moment when Bitcoin is trading at monthly lows near $74,720, ETF outflows have accelerated, and sentiment sits firmly in Fear territory. The bill does not provide an immediate price catalyst — it is early-stage legislation that faces a long road through committee, full chamber votes, Senate consideration, and presidential signature before becoming law.
But its bipartisan sponsorship and its deliberate avoidance of the politically difficult purchase mandate make it a more viable legislative path than its predecessors. If ARMA advances, it would represent the first formal statutory recognition of Bitcoin as a US strategic reserve asset — a development with long-term institutional significance that goes beyond the immediate price impact of any single week's trading, according to The Block.
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