A bill to lock in the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is being renamed the American Reserves Modernization Act — and that’s just one sign that the policy is moving faster than many expected.
Congress And The White House Move In Parallel
Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told attendees at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas on Monday that a major update on the reserve is coming within weeks.
He said the executive branch has spent months working through the legal and operational questions needed to properly secure bitcoin already sitting on the government’s balance sheet.
“We believe we’re going to be able to take a big step forward from the executive branch side in the next few weeks,” Witt said.
The announcement, whatever form it takes, is expected to cover how the reserve will be run and how existing law supports it.
An open question remains: will it say anything about buying more bitcoin? Right now, the reserve holds only seized assets — bitcoin collected through criminal and civil forfeitures. No new purchases have been authorized.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 establishing the reserve. That order directed the government to hold its existing bitcoin rather than sell it, and created a separate stockpile for other digital assets.
But executive orders can be reversed by the next administration, which is exactly why lawmakers want a law to back it up.
The Push To Codify The Reserve
Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Nick Begich have been working on legislation to do that. Their bill — formerly called the Bitcoin Act — proposes acquiring up to 1 million BTC over five years through budget-neutral strategies.
On Monday, Begich announced the bill is being rebranded as the American Reserves Modernization Act, or ARMA. The changes in the reintroduced version have not been fully disclosed yet.
Witt was clear that legislation must follow any executive action. The White House can move first, but Congress needs to act to make the policy stick.
Market Skepticism Remains
Not everyone is convinced this will move quickly. Polymarket data shows only a 23% chance of the US formally establishing the reserve before 2027. The Clarity Act, a broader crypto market structure bill that was seen as a stepping stone for the reserve, is still facing delays in the Senate.
Ethics concerns are also hanging over the broader crypto agenda. Democrats have pushed for provisions that would bar executive branch officials — including the president — from promoting or issuing digital assets, with critics arguing Trump family involvement in crypto ventures creates a conflict of interest.
The coming weeks will show whether the White House’s expected announcement delivers something concrete or simply sets the stage for a longer legislative process still ahead.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
