Rep. Nick Begich introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA) in the House on Thursday, a bill that would codify the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into permanent federal law.
The Alaska Republican brought the legislation forward with 16 original cosponsors. ARMA would lock federally held bitcoin (BTC) for at least 20 years and require budget-neutral acquisitions.
What the ARMA Bill Changes
ARMA builds on the earlier BITCOIN Act framework and seeks to put President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order on a statutory footing. Statutes outlast executive orders, which any future administration can rescind.
Meanwhile, the bill authorizes the Treasury to acquire up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting a one-million-coin reserve.
Acquisitions must avoid new taxpayer spending, echoing earlier gold-sale funding proposals tied to Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).
The 20-year hold applies to all federally controlled bitcoin, including roughly 198,000 to 328,000 BTC the government accumulated through criminal forfeitures such as the Silk Road and Bitfinex hack cases.
The Bitcoin Policy Institute has endorsed the package as a step toward professionalizing federal custody. Notably, the group framed the bill as a turning point for the strategic Bitcoin reserve concept.
ARMA … would put the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve on permanent legal footing: requiring 20 year long-term Bitcoin holdings, budget-neutral acquisition strategies, and federal custody standards,” they wrote.
Committee hearings in the coming weeks will signal how quickly ARMA can advance.
