The U.S. House of Representatives Plans a 20-Year Holding Period for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

June 5. According to the official U.S. Congress website, the full text of the U.S. House of Representatives’ American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA, H.R. 8957) has been released. Introduced on May 21 by Alaska Representative Nicholas Begich, the bill is now before the House Committee on Financial Services for review. Core provisions of the legislation include: integrating Bitcoin seized through criminal or civil asset forfeiture into a strategic Bitcoin reserve overseen by the U.S. Treasury Department, with a mandatory 20-year minimum holding period during which the assets cannot be sold, traded, or otherwise disposed of; establishing a quarterly reserve attestation requirement paired with third-party independent audits; and allowing U.S. states to voluntarily hold their own Bitcoin in separate accounts at the Federal Reserve. Looking ahead, the bill directs the Treasury and Commerce Departments to jointly develop a budget-neutral path to increase federal Bitcoin holdings within 180 days. That path could include converting non-Bitcoin digital assets, seized property, voluntary donations, tax or tariff revenue, or leveraging tools like Federal Reserve notes or gold certificates. Additionally, any forked tokens or airdrops originating from government-controlled addresses must be held securely: their sale is banned for five years post-generation. After that period, the government will assess market values, retain the dominant asset (by market capitalization), and may dispose of others—with proceeds going to the U.S. Treasury. Assets deemed to have unique strategic value can be recommended to Congress for long-term retention. Analysts point out that ARMA is more moderate than the earlier BITCOIN Act, which called for the federal government to purchase 1 million Bitcoins. The new bill has higher political feasibility while still leaving room for future federal Bitcoin acquisitions.