Key points

  • The House Financial Services Committee advanced H.R. 8957 by a 28–21 vote on September 16.
  • The measure would establish a Treasury Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate stockpile for other federally held digital assets.
  • Committee approval is not enactment; the bill still needs passage by the full House and Senate before it can become law.

The House Financial Services Committee advanced legislation on September 16 that would put the federal government’s Bitcoin reserve on a statutory footing. The panel voted 28–21 to report H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, moving the proposal one step closer to consideration by the full House. The action is a committee decision, not final congressional approval.

A Treasury framework for federal Bitcoin

The committee’s official description says the bill would establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile inside the Treasury Department for Bitcoin and other digital assets obtained through criminal or civil forfeiture. Chairman French Hill presented the proposal as a way to consolidate assets now held across federal agencies under consistent custody, security and oversight.

Related reporting: U.S. Treasury yield tops 5% ahead of Fed's September decision

The publicly available introduced text directs Treasury to create a secure Bitcoin storage facility within 180 days of enactment. It also calls for physical and cybersecurity safeguards, an inventory of federal holdings and transfers into the new structures once they are operational. Non-Bitcoin assets would be managed separately, with any disposition conducted transparently under the bill’s reporting framework.

Long holding period and public attestations

H.R. 8957’s introduced version would generally require Bitcoin placed in the reserve to be held for at least 20 years. It would also require quarterly public reports covering holdings and transactions, cryptographic proof that Treasury controls the relevant private keys, verification by an independent third-party auditor and oversight by the Government Accountability Office. The text includes a study of budget-neutral methods for acquiring additional Bitcoin over five years, while stating that the study does not authorize borrowing, new taxes or deficit spending.

The introduced bill would also let states place their own Bitcoin in segregated Treasury accounts while retaining legal title, subject to participation agreements and security controls. It expressly says the federal government would not gain new authority to seize lawfully acquired private holdings. Those provisions separate the proposed management of government-owned assets from the rights of individuals and companies to hold or transfer Bitcoin under existing law.

Those provisions would give Congress a more durable role than the current executive framework. President Donald Trump created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve by executive order in March 2025, primarily using Bitcoin already owned by the government after forfeiture. Putting a reserve into legislation could reduce uncertainty over the executive branch’s authority to maintain it, although the final legal and operational details depend on the version Congress ultimately adopts.

The bill still faces several steps

The committee vote does not place H.R. 8957 on an automatic path to enactment. House leaders would have to schedule floor consideration, the Senate would need to approve corresponding legislation, and any differences between the chambers would have to be resolved before a measure reaches the president. A comparable reserve bill has not passed the Senate.

Debate also remains over whether Bitcoin is an appropriate national reserve asset. The Block reported that Representative Bill Foster raised concerns about its volatility and economic importance during the markup. Supporters argue that consolidated custody and public proof-of-reserve reporting would improve accountability for assets the government already controls. The next material documents will be the committee’s reported bill text and report, which will show whether amendments changed the introduced provisions, followed by any House floor schedule and budget analysis.

Sources

AI-generated editorial image; not a photograph of the reported event. Prepared with AI assistance and source verification.