The U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday approved the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA, H.R. 8957) by a 28-21 vote, making it the first Strategic Bitcoin Reserve legislation to clear a full House committee. The bill now heads to the full House, though no floor vote has been scheduled and lawmakers are set to leave Washington after September 17.
The vote followed a party-line split, with Republicans voting in favor and Democrats opposed. The committee rejected a competing amendment from Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on a 21-28 recorded vote (FC-316), before approving the final motion to report H.R. 8957, as amended, on FC-317.
The Steil Substitute Reshapes Key Provisions
Before the recorded vote, the panel adopted a substitute amendment offered by Representative Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), chair of the Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee. The rewrite is the substantive story of the day.
Under the original draft, each new deposit of bitcoin into the federal reserve would have started its own 20-year clock, meaning a coin seized in 2031 could remain locked until 2051. The Steil substitute changes that: the 20-year holding period is now pegged to the date of enactment for all reserve bitcoin, so coins already held and coins added later share a single statutory start line. The substitute also replaces quarterly attestations with annual public reporting and updates rules for handling forked assets.
Section 10 preserves self-custody rights, stating that nothing in the Act authorizes the federal government to confiscate or impair lawfully held bitcoin or other digital assets.
What the Bill Would Create
ARMA would codify in statute what President Donald Trump established by Executive Order 14233 on March 6, 2025: a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for bitcoin acquired through criminal or civil forfeiture, and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile for non-bitcoin tokens. The executive order directed agencies to retain rather than auction seized bitcoin. ARMA is designed to make that policy permanent so a future administration cannot dissolve the reserve with another executive order.
Current reserve estimates vary widely. On-chain trackers Arkham Intelligence and Bitcoin Treasuries disagree on the count, with estimates ranging from roughly 198,000 to 328,372 BTC. The U.S. Treasury has not published a reconciled balance sheet. Section 7 of the substitute requires each agency to inventory its digital-asset holdings within 60 days of enactment. Known sources of the current stash include Silk Road-linked forfeitures, the Bitfinex hack recovery, and the Prince Group case. Almost none of the reserve was acquired with taxpayer cash on an open exchange.
The Path Ahead
Even if ARMA clears the full House, it still needs Senate approval, and the upper chamber has shown little appetite for crypto legislation this session. The Senate voted down the bipartisan CLARITY Act 49-50 on September 15, just one day before the ARMA committee vote. Without Senate action, the bill cannot reach the president's desk.
In a separate move on the same day, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) by 38-5. That bill exempts small crypto transactions under $10 from reporting and extends wash-sale rules to digital assets, adding another piece to the patchwork of crypto legislation advancing through the House.
The broader political picture remains fragmented. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig both announced on September 16 that their agencies would proceed with crypto regulation using their existing statutory authority, regardless of whether Congress passes comprehensive legislation. Without a statute, agency rules can be rescinded by a future president, whereas congressional action would require a separate act to repeal.
For ARMA, the next test comes on the House floor. With Congress heading into recess, the timeline for a vote — and the Senate's willingness to take it up — remains uncertain.
Sources
- [Cointelegraph](cointelegraph.com) — US Bitcoin reserve bill passes House Committee
- [The Crypto Times](cryptotimes.io) — US House Passes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill 28-21 With 20-Year Lock
- [crypto.news](crypto.news) — US crypto tax bill clears House committee in 38-5 vote
