Overview
- Representative Nick Begich introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act on Thursday to codify President Trump’s March 2025 executive order and put a strategic bitcoin reserve into statute.
- The bill would authorize Treasury to acquire up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, target a total of 1 million bitcoin (about 5% of supply), and require holdings to be locked for at least 20 years.
- Proponents point to the government’s existing stockpile—estimated at about 328,372 BTC from past seizures—and recent Treasury actions that recovered nearly $500 million in Iranian crypto as reasons a statutory plan is needed.
- ARMA would place the reserve in the Treasury, create a separate federal stockpile for non‑bitcoin digital assets, and has bipartisan co‑sponsors but now faces committee review and a full congressional vote.
- Key questions remain on custody arrangements, public reporting, rules on sales or lending, and the bill’s market and fiscal effects, so passage and implementation timelines are uncertain.