Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill Heads to House Committee Vote With 20-Year Lockup Intact

House Financial Services Committee to mark up American Reserve Modernization Act on Wednesday

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a markup of legislation that would write the federal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into statute and require government-held Bitcoin to remain locked in the reserve for at least 20 years, moving the proposal one step closer to becoming permanent law.

The committee’s official calendar confirms a full committee markup for Sept. 16 at 10:00 a.m. ET in the Rayburn House Office Building, where H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, will be considered alongside other measures under the general title Markup of Various Measures. The bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska in May and counts Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine among its cosponsors, giving it a rare bipartisan flavor in a session where most crypto legislation has split along party lines.

What the bill would do

H.R. 8957 would require the Treasury secretary to create a secure storage facility called the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve within 180 days of enactment, alongside a separate Digital Asset Stockpile for non-Bitcoin crypto assets held by the federal government. All qualifying Bitcoin acquired by the government would be placed in the Bitcoin reserve, defined as BTC finally forfeited through criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings or received in satisfaction of certain civil monetary penalties.

Non-Bitcoin assets would go into the separate stockpile, where the Treasury secretary would have discretion to sell, exchange or convert them. Proceeds from those disposals could only be used for two purposes: increasing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve’s holdings or reducing the national debt.

The legislation would impose a long minimum holding period on Bitcoin deposited into the reserve. Existing BTC placed into the reserve would have to remain there for at least 20 years from enactment, while Bitcoin acquired later would face a 20-year clock starting from the date it enters the reserve. During that period, the assets could not be sold, swapped, auctioned, encumbered or otherwise disposed of. Two years before each holding period ends, the Treasury secretary would have to give Congress recommendations on whether the government should continue holding its Bitcoin or permit a gradual release, and once the period expires, the secretary could recommend selling no more than 10% of the reserve during any two-year window.

Public proof of reserve, cryptographic attestations

Federal Bitcoin holdings would face a new disclosure regime if the bill becomes law. The Treasury secretary would be required to establish an ongoing proof-of-reserve system using public cryptographic attestations, with quarterly reports disclosing total holdings and transactions while demonstrating control of the private keys tied to the reserve.

Those reports would be published on an official Treasury website and reviewed by an independent third-party auditor with expertise in cryptographic attestations, with the Comptroller General overseeing the reserve, its quarterly reporting and the audits. Federal agencies would have 60 days after enactment to provide Treasury with a complete accounting of Bitcoin and other digital assets they hold, have seized or otherwise control. Until the two stockpiles become operational, agencies would retain custody of their holdings but generally could not dispose of Bitcoin, with exceptions for national security, court orders and returning assets to identifiable crime victims. Once Treasury certifies the facilities as operational, agencies would have 30 days to transfer their crypto holdings under procedures designed to provide traceability and auditability.

Studying budget-neutral acquisition, not mandated buying

The bill stops short of ordering the government to buy a fixed amount of Bitcoin. Instead, Treasury and the Department of Commerce would have 180 days to jointly study the risks, costs and potential benefits of acquiring more BTC over the following five years without increasing the national debt.

Potential mechanisms listed in the bill include converting assets from the Digital Asset Stockpile, using discretionary surplus remittances from Federal Reserve Banks, revaluing gold certificates held by Federal Reserve Banks, and receiving Bitcoin through forfeitures, penalties or settlements. The study would also examine tax payments, tariff revenue, voluntary contributions, gifts and cooperative programs involving states, private entities or international partners. Any mechanism classified as budget neutral could not require new appropriations, impose net costs on taxpayers or increase the national debt.

From executive order to statute

President Donald Trump established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve through an executive order in March 2025, but executive orders can be revoked by a successor with the stroke of a pen. Codification through legislation is the distinction that makes Wednesday’s markup significant: a 20-year statutory lockup with quarterly cryptographic attestations would survive administrative changes and constrain future Treasury secretaries of either party.

The original federal framework was designed around Bitcoin obtained through government seizures rather than open-market purchases, and the bill preserves that character. The government becomes a structural accumulator of forfeited BTC rather than an active buyer, which is a quieter proposition than the sovereign buying programs debated in several state legislatures but one that compounds over time as law enforcement continues to seize crypto from criminal enterprises.

Bitcoin traded around 75,900 U.S. dollars ahead of the markup, with the market’s attention fixed on the Federal Reserve’s September policy decision due the same week. A committee vote on Wednesday would send the measure to the House floor, where its bipartisan cosponsorship and debt-reduction provisions could appeal to fiscal hawks who have otherwise resisted crypto legislation this session.