House markup tests codifying U.S. Bitcoin reserve

The House Financial Services Committee will mark up H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act, on Sept. 16 in Washington. The bill seeks to place the federal government’s Bitcoin reserve into statute; it has 23 cosponsors, 22 Republicans and one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who is not a member of the committee.

Republicans hold a 30-23 majority on the Financial Services Committee. Committee records show six Republican members on the panel have cosponsored the bill and none of the committee’s 23 Democrats currently back it. The markup is the first committee vote to consider moving reserve authority from presidential discretion into law.

Under the bill, qualifying government-held Bitcoin would be consolidated at the Treasury and placed in a formal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Non-Bitcoin holdings would be moved to a separate Digital Asset Stockpile. An amendment filed before the markup would require Bitcoin in the reserve to be held for at least 20 years and mandate an annual public proof-of-reserve report covering holdings, transactions and control of private keys, with verification by an independent third-party auditor.

The amended text directs a 180-day study on whether additional Bitcoin could be acquired through budget-neutral methods. The bill’s language explicitly does not authorize borrowing, new taxes, deficit spending or using government assets as collateral to purchase Bitcoin.

Currently, the existing federal Bitcoin reserve rests on presidential authority. H.R. 8957 would instead define the reserve in statute; Congress would retain the power to change or repeal that law in the future.

Third-party trackers estimate U.S. government-linked Bitcoin holdings at roughly 324,000 to 328,000 BTC. At $79,000 per Bitcoin, 328,000 BTC would be worth about $26 billion. At a late-August low near $60,000 the same holding would be about $19.7 billion; at a previous peak near $126,000 it would be about $41.3 billion.

The Congressional Budget Office projects the federal deficit will rise from about $1.9 trillion this year to $3.1 trillion by 2036, and projects debt held by the public would increase from roughly 101% to 120% of GDP over the same period. Supporters of a statutory reserve argue potential appreciation could offset some fiscal pressures; critics cite price swings and the need for reserve assets to meet safety and liquidity standards.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has argued reserve assets should remain liquid and secure. World Bank research has concluded crypto assets do not yet meet criteria for central bank reserve portfolios on measures that include safety, liquidity and market maturity.

The CLARITY Act, a 2025 market-structure bill, drew 78 Democratic votes in the House and advanced through the Financial Services Committee on a 32-19 vote. The Sept. 16 committee vote on H.R. 8957 will indicate whether lawmakers who supported market rules will also back formal federal ownership of Bitcoin or pursue different amendments on custody, reporting or acquisition rules.