The U.S. House Financial Services Committee will take up H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, or ARMA, on Sept. 16, 2026. The measure matters because it would establish a strategic bitcoin reserve in federal law, limiting a future administration’s ability to end the policy through a single executive decision.

The committee added the bill to its meeting agenda, according to its official website. Lawmakers will conduct a markup, during which they may debate the measure, consider amendments and vote on whether to advance it.

The proceeding is not a final vote by the full House of Representatives. If the committee approves ARMA, the bill could move to the full House. It would then need approval from both chambers of Congress and the president’s signature to become law.

Proposed reserve rules

Republican Congressman Nick Begich and Democratic Congressman Jared Golden introduced ARMA in May 2026. The proposal is connected to the previously proposed Bitcoin Act and seeks to put the strategic bitcoin reserve established by executive order on a statutory basis.

Ahead of the markup, the committee published a substitute amendment to H.R. 8957 from Congressman Bryan Steil. If adopted, the amendment would replace the bill’s original text.

Under the substitute text, the U.S. Treasury Department would have 180 days after the law takes effect to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve and a separate stockpile for other digital assets. The reserve would receive federally owned bitcoin that is not required for other legally mandated purposes.

Federal agencies would have 60 days to provide the Treasury with a full accounting of their bitcoin and other digital-asset holdings. Eligible assets would move to centralized Treasury management once the reserve infrastructure is operating.

The bill would impose a minimum 20-year holding period. During that time, reserve assets could not be sold, exchanged, auctioned or used as collateral. Two years before the holding period ends, the Treasury would have to submit recommendations to Congress on the reserve’s future management.

The Treasury would also have to create a Proof of Reserve system and publish annual information on the reserve’s size and related transactions. An independent auditor would verify the data.

ARMA’s current version does not require the government to acquire 1 million BTC, a target raised in earlier public discussions. The official text instead calls for a study of ways to accumulate additional bitcoin without increasing costs to taxpayers.

Within 180 days, the Treasury and Commerce departments would have to examine budget-neutral mechanisms, including selling or swapping other government digital assets, obtaining bitcoin through seizures, and reaching agreements with private companies, states or foreign partners. The amendment would prohibit using new taxes, deficit financing, borrowing or pledging government assets to finance purchases.

Transparency requirements

Ahead of the committee meeting, QR Capital co-founder João Paulo Mayall, one of the creators of Latin America’s first bitcoin exchange-traded fund, highlighted the proposal’s transparency requirements.

Mayall said a full physical audit of U.S. gold reserves had not been conducted since 1953. By contrast, he said, ARMA would require the Treasury to disclose quarterly the amount of bitcoin in the reserve, transaction details and proof that it controls the private keys, with independent auditors verifying the data.

Mayall attributed the difference to the assets’ architectures: auditing gold requires a physical inventory of bars, while bitcoin ownership can be demonstrated cryptographically.

Status of the U.S. bitcoin reserve

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve and a separate digital-asset stockpile. The order called for the reserve to be funded primarily with bitcoin confiscated in criminal and civil proceedings and directed the Treasury and Commerce departments to develop ways to add holdings without new taxpayer costs.

The executive order did not by itself create a fully functioning centralized infrastructure. A White House digital-assets report said the Treasury had provided the administration with legal and investment recommendations while agencies continued work on implementation.

In June 2026, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department was moving to establish the reserve “as fast as possible,” but described the effort as “uncharted territory.” At that time, the reserve was not operating as a single, fully fledged system. Bessent had also said the Treasury continued to seek budget-neutral ways to expand its bitcoin holdings.

As of September 2026, there was no public confirmation that all eligible government bitcoin had been consolidated into one reserve. Implementing the executive order remained an objective in the Treasury’s 2026-2030 strategic plan.

Source: Incrypted