US House committee approves bill to lock Trump's strategic Bitcoin reserve into law
House committee advances bill to codify the strategic Bitcoin reserve
A US House committee voted on Wednesday to advance a bill that would turn President Donald Trump's executive order creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve into law. The move brings Washington closer to making Bitcoin a formal part of the federal government's reserves.
The bill would establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile within the Department of the Treasury for federally held Bitcoin and other digital assets that the government has taken through criminal or civil forfeiture (when authorities seize assets connected to crimes).
Key numbers behind the vote
- The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (H.R. 8957) passed the House Committee on Financial Services in a 28-21 vote.
- Rep. Nicholas Begisch introduced the bill on May 21.
- Under the bill, Bitcoin in the federal reserve would have to be held for a minimum of 20 years.
- According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the US government is estimated to hold 324,527 Bitcoin, worth about $24.7 billion at the time of writing.
What the bill would do
The legislation would require all federal agencies to provide a full accounting of the digital assets they currently hold or control. It also sets up transparency measures, including quarterly "proof of reserve" reports (public records showing how much Bitcoin is actually held) and outside audits.
The bill would order a study of budget-neutral ways to add more Bitcoin to the reserve. "Budget-neutral" means methods that do not require new government spending. It would also let states store their own Bitcoin holdings at the Federal Reserve, and it affirms the rights of individuals to hold and control their own Bitcoin through self-custody (keeping your own private keys, the secret codes that prove ownership of crypto, rather than relying on a third party).
Begich said the current setup puts federally held Bitcoin at "unacceptable cybersecurity risks" because it is scattered across different agencies with inconsistent storage.
Reactions from the crypto industry
Connor Brown, executive director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, called the committee vote a "genuinely historic step for Bitcoin policy" in a post on X on Wednesday.
In May, Strive CEO Matt Cole described the bill as "the single most important crypto legislation that can come out of DC."
What is confirmed
- The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 passed the House Financial Services Committee 28-21.
- The bill would create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile inside the Treasury.
- Bitcoin in the reserve would be locked up for at least 20 years.
- Arkham Intelligence estimates the US government holds 324,527 Bitcoin.
What is still unclear
The bill still needs to pass the full House and the Senate before it can reach the president's desk. The source did not say when those votes might happen or whether the bill is expected to gain enough support in either chamber.
Why it matters
Currently, the strategic Bitcoin reserve exists only through Trump's executive order. If this bill becomes law, the reserve would have a statutory foundation, meaning it would be written into law rather than dependent on a single president's order. The 20-year holding requirement would also make it harder for a future administration to sell or change the policy quickly.
What happens next
The bill moves next to the full House of Representatives. From there it would need Senate approval before going to the president to be signed into law.