A bill introduced in Congress this week would force the U.S. Treasury to set up and keep a Bitcoin reserve for at least 20 years. The legislation, called the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA), marks one of the most direct federal attempts to formalize a government Bitcoin holding strategy. If passed, it would lock the Treasury into a long-term crypto position with no early exit.
What the bill does
The text is straightforward. ARMA directs the Treasury to acquire Bitcoin and maintain a reserve that cannot be reduced for a minimum of two decades. The bill doesn't specify how much Bitcoin the government would buy or how it would fund the purchases — those details would likely come later if the measure advances. But the 20-year holding requirement is the core feature: no selling, no rebalancing, no strategic shifts. The reserve just sits.
A long-term bet
This isn't a typical government procurement bill. It's a legislative bet that Bitcoin will retain or increase its value over a very long horizon. Supporters argue that a national Bitcoin reserve could act as a hedge against dollar devaluation and give the U.S. a strategic foothold in digital assets. Critics call it reckless — locking taxpayer money into a volatile asset with no off-ramp for two decades. The bill doesn't address what happens if Bitcoin's price crashes or if the government needs the funds.
Next steps
ARMA has been referred to committee. No hearings are scheduled yet. The bill's chances are unclear — similar proposals have stalled in past sessions. But the fact that it's been introduced at all signals that the idea of a strategic Bitcoin reserve is no longer fringe in Washington. The coming weeks will show whether it gains traction or fades into the pile of crypto bills that never make it to a vote.
