Begich Reintroduces ARMA, Pushing for 1M BTC U.S. Strategic Reserve

The U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill has been reintroduced in Congress as the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA). The legislation, introduced by Representative Nick Begich with 16 original co-sponsors, aims to establish a federal reserve of one million BTC and requires federally held Bitcoin to remain locked for at least 20 years.

The ARMA bill builds on President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The proposal would apply the 20-year holding requirement to all federally controlled Bitcoin, including assets seized in criminal investigations like the Silk Road and Bitfinex cases.

The U.S. government currently controls between 198,000 and 328,000 BTC, worth approximately $25 billion at current prices. Begich likened Bitcoin's role within the crypto market to gold's dominance in precious metals, stating that 'Bitcoin represents about 60% of all market cap for the entire crypto space.'

The bill also proposes a separate digital asset stockpile for federally held cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, which would sit alongside the reserve under the Treasury Department.