Representative Nick Begich introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA) in the House on Thursday, marking a significant step toward institutionalizing cryptocurrency reserves. The legislation was introduced with 16 original co-sponsors, bringing together an Alaska Republican and Maine Democrat to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve that would codify the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into permanent federal law. According to reports from BeInCrypto, ARMA would provide legal certainty beyond executive orders that can be rescinded by future administrations, building on the earlier BITCOIN Act framework and seeking to put President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order on statutory footing. The bill's introduction follows comments from Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, who said earlier this month that a "big announcement" tied to the administration's Bitcoin reserve plans could arrive in the coming weeks.
The bill authorizes the Treasury Department to acquire up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting a one-million-coin reserve under federal custody. As reported by BeInCrypto, acquisitions must be budget-neutral, using gold revaluation to produce the funds needed for these purchases, similar to earlier gold-sale funding proposals tied to Senator Cynthia Lummis. The 20-year hold requirement applies to all federally controlled bitcoin, including approximately 198,000 to 328,000 BTC the government accumulated through criminal forfeitures such as the Silk Road and Bitfinex hack cases. Estimates suggest the U.S. government currently controls between 198,000 and 328,000 BTC, worth roughly ₹2,00,000 crore ($25 billion) at current prices. The legislation also introduces strict custody standards to avoid loss of digital assets due to unsafe security measures.
ARMA extends the provisions of the "Establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile" Executive Order signed by President Trump on March 6, 2025, with additional legislative framework. According to BeInCrypto, the Bitcoin Policy Institute has endorsed the package as a step toward professionalizing federal custody practices. The bill requires all federal agencies to provide a full accounting of digital assets held in their possession and establishes a digital asset stockpile to be managed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The legislation also proposes a separate digital asset stockpile for federally held cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, which would sit alongside the reserve under the Treasury Department. The Bitcoin Policy Institute called the ARMA proposal "a major step forward for sound Bitcoin policy in the U.S."
Bitcoin's price slipped 0.6% over the last 24 hours, struggling to hold above the ₹6,25,000 ($77,000) level. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency remained in 'bearish' territory over the past day, while chatter stayed at 'normal' levels. Committee hearings in the coming weeks will signal how quickly ARMA can advance through the legislative process. The bill represents a significant step toward institutionalizing cryptocurrency reserves and establishing federal custody standards for digital assets. The legislation addresses concerns about the permanence of executive orders by providing statutory backing for the strategic Bitcoin reserve concept, with similar legislation currently being debated in Brazil, targeting spending of up to 5% of all the country's foreign reserves on BTC.
