U.S. House Committee to Mark Up Bill Establishing Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

The U.S. Bitcoin Reserve Bill is set to reach the House Financial Services Committee on September 16 for markup. This bill, known as H.R. 8957, would establish a statutory Strategic Bitcoin Reserve within the Treasury Department and require it to maintain a reserve of Bitcoin for at least 20 years.

The legislation also calls for quarterly proof-of-reserve reports on the Treasury's official website, which would be verified by an independent third-party auditor and subject to oversight by the Government Accountability Office. The bill aims to provide a clearer statutory framework for federal digital asset holdings and consolidate qualifying forfeited Bitcoin after the reserve is certified as operational.

H.R. 8957 would also direct Treasury to create a separate stockpile for federally held non-Bitcoin digital assets, which could be sold or converted to fund additional reserve Bitcoin or national debt reduction. States could place Bitcoin in segregated Treasury accounts while retaining legal title to their holdings, but the proposal does not authorize federal seizure of privately held Bitcoin.