A bipartisan group of 18 US lawmakers has reintroduced the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA Bill), proposing that the federal government actively accumulate up to 1 million Bitcoin over five years and hold it as a formal national reserve asset. According to reports from CoinDesk, the bill was introduced by Representative Nick Begich and Representative Jared Golden on Thursday, with Golden serving as the sole Democrat alongside a Republican slate that includes Reps. Buddy Carter, Ben Cline, Burgess Owens, Mike Lawler, and Matt Van Epps. This represents an increase from the original 16 co-sponsors and builds directly on the earlier BITCOIN Act introduced by Begich and Sen. Cynthia Lummis in July 2024 and updated in March 2025. The bill is designed to translate President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order into durable law, as Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, described the executive order as 'very reversible' and characterized ARMA as 'Version 2' of the BITCOIN Act framework. The ARMA is a rebranded version of earlier proposed legislation that was more commonly referred to as the BITCOIN Act, with the intent to create a policy framing that is less crypto-specific in nature and instead broaden the envisaged objectives into a generalized 'reserve modernisation' both within and outside of cryptocurrencies.
Under the reintroduced ARMA Bill, Bitcoin must be held for at least 20 years and may be sold only to reduce the national debt, which crossed $39 trillion on Wednesday. The bill stipulates that acquisitions must be budget-neutral, meaning the reserve cannot be built using new appropriations or taxpayer-funded purchases. This adjustment would create significant paper gains to purchase Bitcoin without increasing national debt. The legislation emphasizes transparency through quarterly proof-of-reserve reports and independent audits, with Bitcoin stored in secure, geographically distributed vaults. The US government currently holds 328,372 Bitcoin valued at over $25.5 billion from seizures, making it one of the largest Bitcoin holders globally. As reported by CoinDesk, Congressman Jared Golden noted that while the US is already among the world's largest Bitcoin holders, it still lacks a clear federal policy for managing these assets, with the bulk of the existing stack accumulated through criminal forfeitures linked to the Silk Road takedown and the 2022 recovery of bitcoin from the 2016 Bitfinex hack. The ARMA proposal represents a continuation of an executive order established in 2025 that gives the federal government authority to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which would primarily be funded from an accumulation of Bitcoin that has been seized from crime and civil forfeiture actions.
Bitcoin has traded in a range between roughly $77,200 and $78,100 through the week, with BNC reporting a spot price of $77,447 on Friday morning in New York, down sharply from the asset's recent high near $82,500 and well off the $99,000-plus levels touched late last year. According to reports from CoinDesk, the legislative news produced no obvious bid, with traders apparently focused on a more hawkish Federal Reserve tone and broader risk-off positioning across crypto markets. This muted response reflects a familiar pattern in reserve-related news cycles, as markets have repeatedly priced in the existence of a reserve and repeatedly discounted the timeline for active accumulation. The Bitcoin Policy Institute, which has lobbied for the reserve since 2023, endorsed the package as a step toward professionalizing federal custody of digital assets.
The US position of roughly 328,000 BTC remains the largest known state holding, followed by China at an estimated 190,000 BTC, the United Kingdom at around 61,000 BTC, and El Salvador at 6,174 BTC. None of those governments has yet declared a formal reserve policy. If ARMA passes, the US would become the first sovereign nation to formally treat Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset on the model of gold or petroleum stockpiles. However, the bill still needs committee markups, floor votes in both chambers, and presidential assent before any acquisition mechanics activate. Patrick Witt's office has spent months preparing an executive framework, with Witt telling attendees at CoinDesk's Consensus Miami conference on May 6 that an announcement on the reserve was coming 'in the next few weeks' and describing the work as a 'breakthrough' on the legal and custodial structure required to consolidate scattered government holdings. The ARMA bill currently has been introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives and is undergoing the committee review process, with further changes anticipated as it proceeds through the legislative process.
Running alongside the legislative push is an executive-branch workstream that has occupied Witt's office for the better part of a year. At CoinDesk's Consensus Miami conference on May 6, Witt told attendees that an announcement on the reserve was coming 'in the next few weeks' and described the work to date as a 'breakthrough' on the legal and custodial structure required to consolidate scattered government holdings. However, Witt painted a less reassuring picture of current government holdings, citing 'stories and confirmed incidents of cold wallets that were being stored in drawers of desks in various agencies' and referencing a recent exploit involving digital assets held by the US Marshals Service as the kind of incident the new framework is designed to prevent. Witt has been careful to note that crypto seized in active legal proceedings sits in pending status until forfeiture is finalized, with assets potentially returned to victims through restitution before any transfer to the reserve. The ARMA also includes provisions for the long-term holding of BTC, with Bitcoin placed into the reserve generally held for a minimum of 20 years, and may be used earlier only under specific conditions, including scenarios related to reducing federal debt. The legislation also includes several other considerations such as defining Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, creating administrative rules within the Treasury for the safe custody and auditing of digital currencies, and providing for coordination of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with any digital asset stocking programs.
