US Lawmakers Introduce ARMA Bill to Codify Strategic Bitcoin Reserve With 20-Year Hold and 1M BTC Goal

The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 would establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve within the U.S. Department of the Treasury and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile for other federally held cryptocurrencies. The bill sets a 20-year mandatory holding period for bitcoin acquired under the reserve to reduce short-term political influence and treat bitcoin as a long-term sovereign asset. The Treasury would be authorized to buy up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting 1 million BTC under federal custody. Funding would rely on budget-neutral acquisition strategies, including a study on expanding the reserve without raising taxes, increasing deficits, or adding new national debt. The bill requires quarterly Proof of Reserve reporting and independent third-party audits, and it includes a self-custody clause preventing federal impairment of personal bitcoin ownership.

"The bill's headline provision is a 20-year mandatory holding period for any bitcoin acquired under the reserve, a clause designed to insulate the reserve from short-term political pressure and treat bitcoin as a long-term sovereign asset, on par with gold or strategic energy reserves rather than a tradable position subject to shifting administrations."

"On the acquisition side, ARMA would authorize the Treasury to purchase up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting a goal of 1 million bitcoin under federal custody. Purchases would be funded through budget-neutral acquisition strategies, a provision that directs a formal study into how the government could expand the reserve without increasing taxes, adding to the deficit, or taking on new national debt obligations."

"The bill also establishes quarterly Proof of Reserve reports and requires independent third-party audits of all federal digital asset holdings, creating a statutory transparency framework that the existing executive-order reserve (of holding only seized bitcoin) currently lacks."

"The bill explicitly prohibits federal impairment of personal bitcoin ownership through an embedded self-custody clause. Bipartisan ARMA Bill Targets 1 Million Bitcoin Reserve Congressman Nick Begich (AK-AL) and co-lead Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) formally introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, known as ARMA, on May 21, backed by an immediate coalition of more than a dozen co-sponsors from both parties."

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