House panel advances bill to lock federal Bitcoin for 20 years

The House Financial Services Committee voted 28-21 on Sept. 16 to advance H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act. The bill would require the Treasury to place qualifying federal Bitcoin into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and hold those coins for 20 years from the law’s enactment.

Sponsored by Rep. Nicholas Begich (R-Alaska), the measure would also establish a separate Digital Asset Stockpile inside the Treasury Department. The committee adopted a substitute amendment offered by Rep. Bryan Steil by voice vote and rejected an amendment from Rep. Maxine Waters.

Only qualifying government-owned Bitcoin would be eligible for the reserve. Assets that are legally required for other purposes would be excluded. The bill ties the 20-year holding period to the date the law takes effect rather than to the date individual deposits are made.

During the 20-year period the text bars selling, swapping, auctioning, encumbering or otherwise disposing of reserve Bitcoin. The substitute requires Treasury to publish public cryptographic proof of reserves and to produce an annual report detailing holdings, transactions and control of private keys. Those reports must be verified by an independent third-party auditor.

The Comptroller General and the Government Accountability Office would regularly review the reserve, audits and reports. Agencies would have 60 days after enactment to give Treasury a complete accounting of their Bitcoin and other digital assets, then report annually. Qualifying holdings would move into the reserve or stockpile within 30 days after those structures are established.

The bill does not authorize immediate additional purchases of Bitcoin. Section 9 directs Treasury and the Commerce Department to study, within 180 days of enactment, the risks, costs and potential benefits of acquiring more Bitcoin, including whether purchases could be budget neutral. The substitute also calls for a one-year study on possible conditions for early sales and legislative recommendations; that study would be advisory and would not permit breaches of the 20-year holding requirement.

The legislation reflects elements of a March 6, 2025 presidential order that directed creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate digital asset stockpile and asked Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral acquisition strategies. H.R. 8957 must clear further House and Senate votes and receive the president’s signature to become law.