House Financial Services Panel to Weigh Bitcoin Reserve Bill With 20-Year Holding Rule
Key Facts
The House Financial Services Committee plans to hold a markup at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on September 16, 2026, with H.R. 8957, formally titled the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026, among the 9 measures on its agenda.
A markup is the stage at which a committee determines whether a bill should be recommended to the House and in what form, with members able to debate and vote on amendments. Placing H.R. 8957 on the agenda does not mean it has been approved or enacted.
The bill would require the Treasury Department to establish a secure Strategic Bitcoin Reserve facility within 180 days of enactment. It would also create a separate stockpile for non-Bitcoin digital assets, giving Bitcoin and the government's other digital assets distinct legal treatment.
The proposal defines qualifying Bitcoin as assets finally forfeited through criminal or civil proceedings or obtained through a civil monetary penalty imposed by a government agency, provided they are not needed for specified statutory obligations. Agencies would have 60 days to inventory their holdings and would transfer them within 30 days after the custody structures are certified as operational.
Its central provision would require Treasury to hold Bitcoin deposited in the reserve for at least 20 years, prohibiting sales, swaps, auctions, encumbrances or other disposals during that period. After the holding period, Treasury could recommend selling up to 10% of reserve assets in any 2-year period, but a sale would not be automatic.
H.R. 8957 would also create a proof-of-reserve system featuring quarterly reports on holdings, transactions and control of private keys, backed by an independent auditor and regular Government Accountability Office oversight. These mechanisms would make federal Bitcoin custody publicly verifiable and auditable.
H.R. 8957 does not mandate additional Bitcoin purchases. It calls for Treasury and Commerce to complete a study within 180 days on the risks, costs and benefits of possible acquisitions over 5 years, while expressly withholding authorization for borrowing, new taxes or deficit spending.
The legislation follows a White House executive order issued on March 6, 2025, establishing a policy for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a digital-asset stockpile. The order said qualifying government Bitcoin deposited in the reserve should be retained and not sold, while H.R. 8957 would provide a more detailed statutory structure under Treasury.
BTCUSD closed at $79,225.10 in EL7 data on September 14, 2026, after trading between $76,388.72 and $79,325. A 20-year holding rule could reduce the prospect of future government sales, but the bill would not create immediate demand because it does not require market purchases of Bitcoin.
The next scheduled step is the committee markup on September 16, 2026. If the panel recommends reporting the bill, it would still have to clear subsequent legislative stages before its holding and audit provisions could become binding law.