Freshman Rep. Matt Van Epps has emerged as a local champion for a bill that would put the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into law, extending a Trump administration executive order into statutory policy.
Van Epps told Bitcoin Magazine he sees the measure reflecting the momentum in his district: Nashville has developed a growing Bitcoin ecosystem, with community projects like Bitcoin Park and major conferences scheduled to return to the city. He is one of 18 original cosponsors of the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA), introduced May 21 by Rep. Nick Begich with Democratic co-lead Rep. Jared Golden.
ARMA would codify the March 2025 executive order that created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, making the program legally permanent rather than subject to reversal by a future administration. The bill would place the reserve under the U.S. Treasury and set acquisition and holding rules designed to insulate the reserve from short-term political shifts.
Key provisions
– Acquisition cap: Treasury could acquire up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting a total of up to 1 million BTC.
– Lock period: Reserve holdings would be locked for a minimum of 20 years.
– Sales limitation: Any sale of reserve Bitcoin would be permitted only for the express purpose of reducing the national debt.
– Digital Asset Stockpile: Non-Bitcoin digital assets already in federal custody would be stored separately.
Van Epps has framed the legislation as fiscally protective: with a national debt he cited at roughly $39 trillion, he argues ARMA offers a tool for debt reduction and long-term financial innovation. The bill also affirms that the federal government may not interfere with individuals’ lawful rights to own, transfer, or self-custody digital assets.
The bill builds on earlier proposals such as the BITCOIN Act introduced in 2025. Currently, the federal government holds an estimated 328,372 BTC accumulated through law enforcement seizures — including assets recovered from the Silk Road takedown and the 2022 Bitfinex hack recovery — which lawmakers could designate under the reserve framework.
ARMA directs a study on budget-neutral acquisition strategies to identify ways to expand reserves without raising taxes or increasing deficit spending. Supporters say that statutory backing and acquisition rules would provide a clearer, enduring policy for federal digital-asset holdings.
Political context and next steps
A Senate companion measure backed by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bill Cassidy includes similar codification language. At the Bitcoin 2026 conference, White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt suggested an administration “breakthrough” related to the reserve plans could come soon, signaling ongoing executive-branch engagement.
Van Epps has publicly celebrated his cosponsorship on social channels, describing ARMA as a step to solidify American leadership in financial innovation. With bipartisan sponsors and parallel Senate activity, the bill now moves through congressional processes that will determine whether the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve becomes permanent policy and how acquisition and custodial details are implemented.
