The U.S. Congress introduced the ARMA bill on May 21, 2026, proposing to codify a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into federal law, authorizing the Treasury to acquire up to 1 million BTC over five years. HThe U.S. Congress introduced the ARMA bill on May 21, 2026, proposing to codify a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into federal law, authorizing the Treasury to acquire up to 1 million BTC over five years. H
The U.S. Congress introduced the ARMA bill on May 21, 2026, proposing to codify a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into federal law, authorizing the Treasury to acquire up to 1 million BTC over five years. Here's what you need to know.
Overview
On May 21, 2026, Reps. Nick Begich (R-AK) and Jared Golden (D-ME) introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA), a bipartisan bill that seeks to transform the United States' approach to digital asset reserves from an executive policy into permanent federal statute. If enacted, ARMA would codify President Trump's March 2025 executive order on a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — giving it a legal foundation that no future administration could easily dismantle with a stroke of the pen.
Under ARMA, the Treasury Department would be authorized to acquire up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting a reserve of 1 million Bitcoin. Purchases would be financed through a gold revaluation mechanism, not taxpayer funds. The bill also introduces a strict 20-year holding requirement, protecting federal Bitcoin holdings from short-term political decisions.
For the global crypto market, this represents a landmark shift: the world's largest economy moving toward enshrining Bitcoin as a national strategic reserve asset through an act of Congress.
Key Takeaways
ARMA was introduced May 21, 2026, with 16 original co-sponsors from both parties
The Treasury would be authorized to buy up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting 1 million BTC
Funding is budget-neutral: the gold revaluation mechanism converts undervalued Federal Reserve gold certificates into acquisition capital
All federally held Bitcoin must be locked for a minimum of 20 years under the bill
A separate Digital Asset Stockpile would manage non-Bitcoin crypto assets held by the federal government
The bill protects Americans' legal rights to own, transfer, and self-custody digital assets
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has previously opposed active Bitcoin purchases, indicating political headwinds ahead
The Legislative Road That Led Here
ARMA does not emerge in a vacuum. Its predecessor, the BITCOIN Act, was introduced by Sen. Cynthia Lummis in July 2024 and updated in March 2025. Rep. Begich advanced a companion bill in the House alongside Lummis during that update cycle. The BITCOIN Act planted the seed; ARMA is the attempt to make it take root in statute.
The critical distinction is legal durability. Executive orders — including Trump's March 2025 directive — can be revoked by the next president without Congressional approval. Patrick Witt, a member of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, described ARMA to interviewers as "Version 2" of the BITCOIN Act and noted the White House had spent considerable time examining the legal implications of a Bitcoin reserve. His assessment: it is "a breakthrough as far as getting everything in place, legally sound, properly safeguarding the assets."
Statutes, by contrast, require an affirmative act of Congress to repeal. ARMA's core ambition is to move Bitcoin from the realm of executive discretion into the bedrock of U.S. financial law.
Breaking Down the Bill's Core Provisions
The Acquisition Target
According to the official press release from Begich's office, ARMA authorizes Treasury to buy up to 200,000 BTC annually for five consecutive years, with a stated goal of holding 1 million Bitcoin — roughly 5% of Bitcoin's hard-capped total supply of 21 million coins.
The U.S. government currently holds an estimated 328,372 BTC accumulated through law enforcement seizures, including the Silk Road takedown and the 2022 Bitfinex hack recovery, valued at roughly $25.5 billion at current prices. Under ARMA, the practice of auctioning seized crypto would end: all confiscated digital assets would transfer directly into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Budget-Neutral Funding via Gold Revaluation
The financing mechanism is one of ARMA's most innovative features. The Federal Reserve currently holds gold certificates booked at the 1973 statutory price of $42.22 per ounce — a figure frozen for more than five decades while spot gold prices have climbed by orders of magnitude. ARMA proposes revaluing these certificates to current market prices, using the resulting accounting surplus to fund Bitcoin purchases.
As KuCoin's analysis explains, this paper gain — potentially hundreds of billions of dollars — is then deployed toward BTC acquisitions without increasing the national deficit or levying new taxes. The logic: convert a dormant, century-old reserve asset into a forward-looking strategic one.
The 20-Year Lock
Stocktwits reported that ARMA mandates all federally held Bitcoin — including existing seizure assets from Silk Road and Bitfinex cases — be locked for at least 20 years. This provision structurally prevents future governments from liquidating the reserve to cover short-term budget shortfalls or for political reasons.
The Digital Asset Stockpile
Alongside the Bitcoin-specific reserve, ARMA creates a separate United States Digital Asset Stockpile to hold non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies acquired by the federal government through seizures, forfeitures, and penalties. Treasury would oversee both structures.
Property Rights Protection and Transparency
The bill also explicitly affirms that the federal government may not impair the lawful right of individuals to own, transfer, or self-custody digital assets — a statutory shield for private crypto ownership in the United States.
On the oversight side, crypto.news notes the bill mandates quarterly audits, regular proof-of-reserve reports, and a formal study into budget-neutral acquisition strategies for future reserve expansion.
The Bipartisan Coalition Behind ARMA
ARMA's political composition is notable. Begich is a Republican; Golden is a Democrat. Among 17 original co-sponsors, the bill draws support from across the partisan divide — a relatively rare alignment in today's Congress.
Golden's statement captures the bipartisan framing: cryptocurrency is no longer a "fringe phenomenon," and Congress must set coherent policy. His argument is that past administrations "auctioned [Bitcoin] off or held it in reserve, according to the whims of the executive branch," and that enshrining the reserve in law gives it the "weight of law" it has lacked.
Begich's comparison is direct: gold is the dominant precious metal reserve; Bitcoin commands roughly 60% of total crypto market capitalization. In his framing, Bitcoin is the digital-era equivalent that belongs on the same balance sheet.
Strive CEO Matt Cole went further, calling ARMA the "single most important crypto legislation" that could come out of Washington D.C.
Obstacles and Open Questions
ARMA is not without friction. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has publicly ruled out agency-level Bitcoin purchases, creating a direct tension with the bill's intent. Any path to enactment will require navigating that resistance, alongside the standard gauntlet of House and Senate committee review, floor votes, and bicameral reconciliation.
GNCrypto's analysis notes that even if passed, Bitcoin purchases could only begin after Treasury completes the gold revaluation funding mechanism and establishes the custody and reporting infrastructure mandated by law — adding time between enactment and execution.
What ARMA Means for Bitcoin Markets
The market implications of ARMA are structural rather than speculative. With approximately 20 million Bitcoin currently in circulation, annual federal purchases of 200,000 BTC would absorb roughly 1% of current supply per year — and lock it away for two decades. The cumulative five-year target of 1 million BTC would remove 5% of total supply from the market permanently under the bill's current terms.
Beyond the supply-demand arithmetic, the signaling effect is arguably more powerful. When the world's largest economy legislates Bitcoin as a sovereign reserve asset, the precedent for other central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and institutional allocators is categorical. Intellectia.ai's market analysis points to regulatory clarity developments of this type as a primary driver of sustained institutional Bitcoin accumulation in 2026.
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The significance of ARMA extends well beyond the headline figure of 1 million BTC.
The shift from executive order to statute is qualitative, not quantitative. Executive orders expire with administrations; statutes endure until Congress actively repeals them. If ARMA passes, the United States' commitment to a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will carry institutional permanence for the first time. That changes the calculus for every sovereign wealth fund and central bank currently watching from the sidelines.
The gold revaluation mechanism deserves more attention than it typically receives. The Federal Reserve's gold certificates are booked at a price that hasn't been updated since 1973 — a hidden balance sheet discrepancy worth hundreds of billions of dollars at current gold prices. ARMA's proposal to revalue them is, in a narrow accounting sense, simply correcting a five-decade-old entry. But the political act of deploying that surplus to purchase Bitcoin is a statement about which asset class belongs on America's balance sheet in the next 50 years. It is a deliberate reallocation from analog-era wealth storage toward digital-era value.
The near-term legislative risk is real and should not be minimized. Treasury Secretary Bessent's opposition is not rhetorical — it reflects genuine institutional resistance within the executive branch that ARMA would need to overcome. The bill must run a full bicameral process, and the technical details of the gold revaluation mechanism and custody framework will attract intense scrutiny. The probability of passage in this legislative session is uncertain.
What is not uncertain is the directional signal. In Washington D.C., the debate has moved on from "whether the United States should hold Bitcoin" to "how to hold it, how much to hold, and how to lock it in law." That shift in the terms of discussion is itself a structural tailwind for Bitcoin's long-term institutional narrative — regardless of whether ARMA passes in its current form.
For investors, we recommend treating ARMA's legislative progress as a signal worth tracking closely, while avoiding overconcentration in any single regulatory outcome. Sound position sizing and risk management remain the most durable edge in this environment.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the ARMA bill?
ARMA stands for the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026. Introduced on May 21, 2026 by Reps. Nick Begich and Jared Golden, it is bipartisan legislation designed to codify a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into federal law and authorize the Treasury Department to acquire up to 1 million BTC over five years using budget-neutral funding mechanisms.
How is ARMA different from Trump's March 2025 executive order?
Trump's executive order established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as an executive policy, which any future president can revoke. ARMA seeks to convert that policy into federal statute, which requires a separate act of Congress to repeal — giving the reserve far greater legal permanence and institutional durability.
Where does the money come from to buy Bitcoin?
ARMA uses a budget-neutral approach: the Federal Reserve's gold certificates, currently booked at the 1973 statutory price of $42.22/oz, would be revalued to current market prices. The accounting surplus generated by this revaluation is used to fund Bitcoin acquisitions — no new taxes, no new deficit spending.
Will the U.S. government sell seized Bitcoin under ARMA?
No. Under ARMA, seized and confiscated digital assets are transferred directly into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve rather than being auctioned. The bill applies a 20-year holding requirement to all federally held Bitcoin, including assets from the Silk Road and Bitfinex seizures.
What is the Digital Asset Stockpile?
Alongside the Bitcoin-specific reserve, ARMA creates a separate United States Digital Asset Stockpile to hold non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies acquired by federal agencies through seizures, forfeitures, penalties, and other legal actions. Both structures would be managed by the Treasury Department.
What are the main obstacles to ARMA passing?
The most significant near-term obstacle is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's stated opposition to active Bitcoin purchases by federal agencies. Beyond that, the bill faces the standard bicameral legislative process, including committee review, floor votes in both the House and Senate, and potential reconciliation. The mechanics of the gold revaluation funding will likely attract close scrutiny.
How could ARMA affect Bitcoin's price?
If enacted, ARMA would authorize the Treasury to absorb up to 200,000 BTC per year — roughly 1% of current circulating supply — and lock those holdings for 20 years. The structural supply removal, combined with the sovereign validation signal it sends to institutional investors globally, could have meaningful long-term upward pressure on Bitcoin prices. However, legislative timelines are uncertain and market outcomes are not guaranteed.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or financial guidance. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, and legislative developments are subject to change. The information presented reflects publicly available data as of May 2026. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
About the Author
This article was produced by the MEXC Crypto Pulse Team, the research and content division of MEXC. The team specializes in macroeconomic policy analysis, on-chain data research, technical analysis, and crypto market intelligence, delivering timely and in-depth insights to users worldwide. Last updated May 2026.
Sources
US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill Reintroduced In Congress As ARMA With 20-Year BTC Hold Requirement
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