Key highlights:
- The House Financial Services Committee voted 28-21 to advance the ARMA Act
- A last-minute rewrite changed the bill’s 20-year holding rule
- The bill would not extend the wash-sale tax rule to crypto
A bill aimed at establishing the federal government’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve took a step forward on Wednesday, clearing a House committee vote. The House Financial Services Committee voted 28 to 21 to advance the American Reserve Modernization Act, known as ARMA or H.R. 8957. The bill could potentially hit the floor later this year for a vote.
The American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA) just cleared the House Financial Services Committee.
We built support with members of Congress, subject matter experts, Commerce, and Treasury. Significant effort was made by committee staff on this important legislation, and for… https://t.co/U7qq3dMFMc
— Congressman Nick Begich (@RepNickBegich) September 16, 2026
Committee adopts a rewritten version of the bill
Before the final vote, the committee adopted a revised version of the bill proposed by Rep. Bryan Steil, chair of the panel’s Digital Assets. The rewrite replaced the first bill text and made several notable changes.
The original ARMA bill proposed that each new batch of Bitcoin added to the reserve triggers its own 20-year holding period, which means coins seized years apart could stay locked up until different dates decades apart.
The revised text instead sets the 20-year clock to a date when the law is enacted. Essentially, all reserve BTC, whether already held or added later, becomes eligible for sale at the same time.
The rewrite also loosened reporting requirements. The revised bill calls for an annual public report covering total holdings, transactions, and control of the private keys securing the BTC, verified by an independent auditor. The Comptroller General would oversee the program.
Another change was the rules for handling forked or airdropped tokens. The Treasury would now be able to dispose of such assets after a year, down from five years in the first text. After that, it would keep the version of the asset with the higher market value and could sell the other.
Rep. Steil said the changes strengthen the government’s financial position. “This is a smart financial strategy that will increase our reserve strength while also reducing our deficit,” he said.
Watch: @RepBryanSteil in support of H.R. 8957:
“We cannot allow Bitcoin to be held by the federal government to languish in fragmented and inconsistent custody. It poses unacceptable, unacceptable cybersecurity risks and fails to give an adequate accounting of what the federal… pic.twitter.com/Zrhno96V1v
— Financial Services GOP (@FinancialCmte) September 16, 2026
However, not everyone agreed to the bill. Rep. Bill Foster raised concerns about the volatility of BTC as an asset for the federal government to hold long-term. “I don’t think anyone believes that Bitcoin is critical to the U.S. economy,” Foster said.
What the bill would and wouldn’t do
ARMA is designed to turn into permanent law later on. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 directing agencies to hold onto BTC seized through criminal or civil forfeiture, and to set up a stockpile for other digital assets. ARMA would write that policy into statute, which means a future administration could not undo it with a new executive order.
Estimates of how much Bitcoin the government currently holds vary depending on which forfeiture wallets are counted. Numbers range from about 198,000 to more than 328,000 BTC. Arkham data shows the U.S. currently holds 324,00 BTC tokens.
Source:: U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill Advances After House Committee Vote