Rep. Nick Begich introduces ARMA Bitcoin bill

Rep. Nick Begich, an Alaska Republican, introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act on May 21 to establish a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve in statute, according to his office. The measure was introduced alongside Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, giving the proposal a bipartisan lead pairing even though its support base is mostly Republican. (begich.house.gov) Begich’s office said the bill would “modernize” how the federal government manages digital reserve assets. Bitcoin-focused outlets described it as an effort to give permanent legal footing to the government’s Bitcoin-reserve policy rather than leave it to executive action alone. The proposal lands in a Congress that has already seen earlier Bitcoin-reserve legislation from Begich and Senate legislation from Sen. (begich.house.gov) Cynthia Lummis. That makes ARMA less a first appearance than a revised House vehicle tied to the current policy debate over whether seized federal Bitcoin should be held, consolidated or sold. ### Who is behind the bill? Nick Begich and Jared Golden are the lead House sponsors named in Begich’s May 21 release. The original co-sponsor list in that release names 17 additional House members: Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, Ben Cline, Barry Moore, Burgess Owens, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Mike Carey, Mike Collins, Mike Lawler, Michael Rulli, Riley Moore, Tim Moore, Abraham J. Hamadeh, Pat Harrigan, Mike Haridopolos, Gabe Evans, Dave Taylor and Matt Van Epps. The discrepancy between some outside reports saying 16 co-sponsors and Begich’s posted list showing 17 appears to reflect differing counts of who was included at publication. (begich.house.gov) Begich said in the release that the bill would position the United States “to lead confidently in the digital age,” while Golden said Congress had never set a federal policy for Bitcoin already held by the government. (congress.gov) Golden said administrations had at times auctioned the asset or held it “according to the whims of the executive branch.” ### What would ARMA actually do? The Treasury Department would oversee the reserve under the bill, according to Bitcoin Magazine’s account of the measure and Begich’s office summary. The legislation would also create a separate stockpile for federally held digital assets other than Bitcoin. That structure mirrors the split now common in reserve proposals: Bitcoin as the primary reserve asset, other confiscated or held tokens in a different bucket. (begich.house.gov) Decrypt and Bitcoin Magazine reported that the bill would require the reserve to be maintained for at least 20 years. Bitcoin Magazine also reported that the measure would authorize Treasury to acquire as much as 200,000 Bitcoin a year for five years, targeting 1 million Bitcoin in total. Those figures were cited in outside coverage, though the Begich press release excerpt available publicly does not spell them out in the lines retrieved here. (begich.house.gov) ### Why are lawmakers talking about existing government Bitcoin? Bitcoin Magazine reported that the U.S. government currently holds an estimated 328,372 Bitcoin, largely from law-enforcement seizures including the Silk Road case and the 2022 Bitfinex recovery. Rep. Pat Harrigan, one of the bill’s backers, said the government already holds “billions in seized bitcoin with no coherent strategy for managing it.” (bitcoinmagazine.com) That existing stockpile is central to the argument from supporters. Golden framed the issue as one of federal policy consistency, while Begich compared Bitcoin’s role in crypto markets with gold’s role in precious-metals reserves in comments reported by Fox Business and Bitcoin Magazine. (decrypt.co) ### How does this fit with earlier Bitcoin-reserve bills? Begich introduced the BITCOIN Act of 2025 in March 2025 with other House backers, and Sen. Cynthia Lummis introduced Senate legislation the same month. Congress.gov’s summary of the 2025 House bill said it would establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for secure storage of U.S. Bitcoin holdings and transfer existing federal holdings into that reserve. ARMA appears to build on that earlier framework while being presented as a 2026 update. (bitcoinmagazine.com) Another House bill, H.R. 2112, was introduced earlier in the 119th Congress to give legal force to the March 6, 2025 executive order on the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. ARMA now joins that broader cluster of legislation seeking to convert executive crypto policy into statute. (begich.house.gov) ### What happens next on Capitol Hill? Congress.gov says House bills move through referral and committee consideration before any floor action. The available search results do not yet show a Congress.gov landing page for ARMA itself, which suggests the formal public bill entry may still be propagating or was not surfaced in search at the time of reporting. Begich’s office published its announcement on May 21, and that release remains the primary public source for the introduction and sponsor list while the measure enters the legislative process. (congress.gov 1) (congress.gov 2) (congress.gov 3)