On May 21, Representative Nick Begich formally introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act, a legislative vehicle designed to codify the executive order on strategic BTC reserves signed by President Trump in March 2025 into binding federal statute. The proposal seeks to establish a permanent strategic BTC reserve managed by the Treasury Department, distinguishing it from a separate digital asset reserve fund intended for other federal crypto holdings. Woofun AI reports that the bill has already secured bipartisan backing, with over a dozen members of Congress joining as co-sponsors to advance the framework. Begich explicitly aligned BTC with gold, asserting that market dynamics have designated both as the primary value storage instruments within their respective asset classes. He noted that BTC commands approximately 60% of the total market value of the entire crypto industry, mirroring gold's dominance in precious metals.

The ARMA bill functions as a direct upgrade to the previously proposed BITCOIN Act, which Begich and Senator Cynthia Lummis jointly introduced in March 2025. Under the new legislative mandate, the Treasury Department would be authorized to purchase up to 200,000 BTC annually for a duration of five years. This aggressive accumulation strategy targets a final reserve of 1 million BTC, representing roughly 5% of the global total supply of Bitcoin. A critical constraint within the legislation dictates that all acquired BTC holdings must be locked for a minimum of 20 years, with a strict prohibition on sales during this period. Woofun AI notes that this long-term lock-up mechanism is designed to signal unwavering national commitment to the asset as a strategic reserve rather than a liquid trading instrument.

Currently, the U.S. government holds approximately 328,000 BTC, assets largely accumulated through law enforcement seizures in high-profile cases such as the Silk Road operation and the 2022 Bitfinex hacking incident. Despite the substantial value of these holdings, they currently operate without a unified strategic management framework, leaving them in a regulatory limbo. Co-sponsor Representative Pat Harrigan of North Carolina highlighted the urgency of rectifying this administrative gap, stating that the government possesses billions of dollars in confiscated BTC but lacks a coherent strategy for their stewardship. The introduction of ARMA addresses this specific vulnerability by providing a statutory basis for the centralized management of these digital assets.

This legislative push coincides with a broader surge in crypto-friendly policy initiatives across Washington. On May 13, the Senate Banking Committee passed the Digital Asset Markets Clearing Act by a vote of 15 to 9, establishing a preliminary regulatory framework for the industry. Senator Lummis indicated that the ARMA bill could potentially face a full Senate vote by mid-June, though she acknowledged that this timeline remains optimistic given the legislative calendar.

Concurrently, the Treasury Department is intensifying enforcement actions against illicit financial activities under Operation Economic Fury. By the end of April, federal agents had seized nearly $500 million in Iranian-related crypto assets, underscoring the immediate need for a comprehensive digital asset management strategy to handle such inflows. Woofun AI analysis suggests that the convergence of enforcement seizures and strategic reserve legislation indicates a fundamental shift in how the U.S. government categorizes and utilizes digital assets.

The White House has signaled that specific operational details regarding the strategic BTC reserve are imminent, with a senior official confirming that the primary legal obstacles to implementation have been overcome. This development marks a pivotal transition from executive discretion to statutory permanence for the nation's digital asset posture. The proposed 20-year holding period and the exclusion of BTC from the general digital asset fund reflect a deliberate policy choice to treat Bitcoin as a unique strategic commodity comparable to gold reserves. As the legislative process advances, the successful passage of ARMA would fundamentally alter the composition of U.S. national reserves, embedding Bitcoin into the core of federal fiscal infrastructure for the next two decades.