The full text of the bill that favors bitcoin HR 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, has been announced in the US Congress. websitegiving lawmakers, industry stakeholders, and the public their first detailed look at the mechanics behind a bill that would make the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve a federal law.
Bill, be explained May 21 and Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK) along with assistant leader Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) and more than 20 co-sponsors, were referred to the House Committee on Financial Services for the launch.
When the rules of broad lines – consolidating federally held Bitcoin under the guidance of the Treasury to oversee and build on the administration of President Trump March 2025 – was known at the beginning, the entire document shows the sweep of the construction of laws in hand, public requirements, and buy guardrails that go well beyond the work the chief wants to codify.
Central to the bill is a mandatory 20-year term for all BTC stored in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, during which no products can be “sold, bartered, sold, multiplied, or otherwise disposed of”.
The lock-up clock restarts with each new session, meaning that BTC seized through criminal or criminal charges – referred to in the bill as “proper Bitcoin” – would be untouched for twenty years after being transferred to a storage facility.
After that time, the Secretary of the Treasury may recommend that you do not exceed 10% of the assets held in each two-year window, according to the Congressional review.
Proof of US Bitcoin Reserves
All documents also provide a “Proof of Reserve” system that requires annual public proof of all assets, independent third-party audits, and oversight by the Comptroller General – a level of supply chain visibility that has never been seen in a federal financial program.
Non-Bitcoin digital assets acquired by the government, such as Ethereum or other confiscated cryptocurrencies, will be stored in a special Digital Asset Stockpile, with the money dedicated to expanding the Bitcoin reserve or reducing the national debt.
Alternatively, the bill expressly prohibits the government from using new loans, new taxes, or spending money to acquire BTC.
Instead, it directs the Treasury and Commerce Departments to together studying ways to create a neutral currency within 180 days of its launch – including the conversion of non-Bitcoin assets, the Federal Reserve’s currency, and the review of the gold certificate.
The bill also opens up a voluntary government participation program, allowing countries to store their BTC holdings in a segregated Treasury account, and ensuring that nothing can be construed as allowing private expropriation of Bitcoin.
The bill now awaits action in the House Finance Committee.
