US Bitcoin Reserve Bill Text Locks Holdings for 20 Years and Mandates Quarterly Proof-of-Reserve Reports

The full legislative text of a bill to codify a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is now public on Congress.gov, revealing a mandatory 20-year prohibition on selling any acquired BTC and a requirement for quarterly, publicly audited proof-of-reserve reports.

Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK) introduced H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA), on May 21 alongside co-lead Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) and 16 original co-sponsors. The bill is currently referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

The 20-Year Lock-Up Provision

The text directs the Treasury Secretary to hold all Bitcoin deposited in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for a minimum of 20 years. During that period, no Bitcoin may be "sold, swapped, auctioned, encumbered, or otherwise disposed of for any purpose", per the bill's language. The only exception: Bitcoin may be sold to reduce the national debt, which topped $39 trillion at the time of introduction.

The provision is designed to insulate the reserve from short-term political pressure, preventing future administrations from liquidating holdings.

Quarterly Proof-of-Reserve Attestations

ARMA requires quarterly public proof-of-reserve reports published on an official Treasury website. Each report must include the total holdings, all transactions, and a public cryptographic attestation demonstrating the government controls the private keys. An independent, third-party auditor with expertise in cryptographic attestations must verify each report.

The bill also establishes a separate Digital Asset Stockpile for all other federally held non-Bitcoin digital assets, consolidating custody currently scattered across federal agencies.

Acquisition Path and the 1M BTC Target

ARMA sets a target of up to 1 million BTC under federal custody, acquired at up to 200,000 BTC per year over five years. At Bitcoin's current price of $62,123, a 1 million BTC reserve would represent roughly $62.1 billion in holdings.

The bill does not call for open-market purchases using appropriated funds. Instead, it directs the Treasury Department to study budget-neutral acquisition strategies, including revaluing the Federal Reserve's gold certificates at current market prices. That revaluation would generate paper gains to fund BTC purchases without increasing the national debt or raising taxes.

The US government currently holds approximately 328,372 BTC, worth about $20.4 billion at current prices, accumulated primarily through law-enforcement forfeitures. The bill would consolidate those holdings, which have historically been auctioned off with no consistent framework, into the new reserve structure.

"The United States government already holds billions in seized Bitcoin with no coherent strategy for managing it, and that needs to change," said Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC), an original co-sponsor, in the bill's official press release.

Rep. Begich framed the legislation in terms of financial sovereignty: "Private property rights are fundamental to the American Ideal, and those rights must extend fully into the digital space."

Legislative Path

ARMA arrived in the House Financial Services Committee as the broader crypto-regulatory calendar accelerates. The CLARITY Act, the digital-asset market-structure bill, cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 vote on May 14. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said a Senate floor vote could come as soon as mid-June.

Patrick Witt from the White House's President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets has called ARMA "Version 2," describing it as building on earlier BITCOIN Act proposals introduced in 2024 and updated in March 2025.

What Is Not Yet Resolved

The bill text contains no guarantee that the budget-neutral acquisition mechanism will be viable. The Treasury-Commerce study on BTC purchases is directed, not mandated to produce a specific outcome. A House Financial Services Committee markup date has not been announced. Whether ARMA can advance separately from or in tandem with the CLARITY Act through a congested Senate calendar remains unclear.