The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA), introduced on May 21 by Rep. Nick Begich (AK-AL) and Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02) with 17 original co-sponsors, proposes revaluing the Federal Reserve's gold certificates from $42.22/oz to current market price — approximately $4,528/oz — to unlo...
"By creating a strategic reserve with the weight of law, the ARMA reinforces stability and gives Congress more time to establish long-term policy." — Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02), Co-Lead Sponsor of the American Reserve Modernization Act
The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA), introduced on May 21 by Rep. Nick Begich (AK-AL) and Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02) with 17 original co-sponsors, proposes revaluing the Federal Reserve's gold certificates from $42.22/oz to current market price — approximately $4,528/oz — to unlock an estimated $1.17 trillion in paper gains. Those gains would fund the acquisition of 200,000 BTC per year for five years, targeting a reserve of 1 million bitcoin (roughly 5% of total supply) locked for a minimum of 20 years.
The bill has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee. It runs parallel to Sen. Cynthia Lummis's BITCOIN Act (S.954) in the Senate Banking Committee, and both build on President Trump's March 2025 executive order that established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve from approximately 207,000 BTC already in federal custody via law enforcement seizures. Three states — New Hampshire, Arizona, and Texas — have already signed bitcoin reserve legislation into law, creating a multi-layered policy architecture that did not exist 18 months ago.
ARMA's political design is notable: its "budget-neutral" funding mechanism avoids direct appropriations, deficit spending, or tax increases, addressing the primary objection that killed earlier reserve proposals.
The U.S. Treasury holds 261.5 million troy ounces of gold across Fort Knox, West Point, and the Denver Mint. Since 1973, this gold has been carried on the federal balance sheet at a statutory rate of $42.222 per ounce — a book value of approximately $11 billion.
At current market prices near $4,528/oz, those same reserves are worth approximately $1.18 trillion. The gap between book value and market value — roughly $1.17 trillion — is the funding source ARMA targets.
The mechanism works as follows: the Treasury would present revalued gold certificates to the Federal Reserve and receive a dollar credit for the difference. No new money is printed. No appropriation is required. The transaction reclassifies an existing asset at fair market value, similar to mark-to-market accounting used by every publicly traded company.
This approach is not unprecedented. The Federal Reserve Board published a research note in August 2025 examining official reserve revaluations conducted by other central banks, according to the Fed's own FEDS Notes series. Several countries have used similar mechanisms to restructure sovereign balance sheets without legislative appropriation.
Critics argue the maneuver is an accounting fiction — the gold does not change, only its label. Proponents counter that the current $42.22 valuation is itself a fiction, a relic of the Bretton Woods era that understates U.S. reserve assets by over 100x.
Two bills now compete to codify the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Their shared goals mask meaningful structural differences.
| Feature | ARMA (House — Begich/Golden) | BITCOIN Act (Senate — Lummis) | |---|---|---| | Target | 1 million BTC over 5 years | 1 million BTC over 5 years | | Annual rate | 200,000 BTC/year | 200,000 BTC/year | | Lockup | 20-year minimum | 20-year minimum | | Funding | Gold certificate revaluation | Gold certificate revaluation | | Custodian | U.S. Treasury | U.S. Treasury | | Digital Asset Stockpile | Yes (separate from BTC reserve) | Yes | | Self-custody protections | Explicit — affirms individual rights | Not specified | | Transparency | Quarterly proof-of-reserve + independent audits | Annual audit | | Political architecture | Budget-neutral framing for centrist appeal | Direct purchase framing |
The ARMA bill was reportedly renamed from an earlier version of the BITCOIN Act companion bill following discussions with the House Financial Services Committee, according to reporting by The Block. The rebranding was intended to broaden political support by emphasizing "reserve modernization" rather than a single-asset strategy.
Lummis called the broader legislative effort surrounding digital asset regulation "the hardest piece of legislation" she has worked on, according to remarks during the Clarity Act markup on May 14, 2026.
On March 6, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14233, establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile within the Department of the Treasury. The order directed that approximately 207,000 BTC already held by the federal government — seized through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings — be transferred into the reserve rather than auctioned.
The order also instructed the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to develop "budget-neutral" strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, but provided no specific funding mechanism or acquisition target. ARMA and the BITCOIN Act both attempt to fill that gap with legislative authority.
As of February 2026, the U.S. government held an estimated 328,372 BTC, according to data tracked by Arkham Intelligence. Major sources include 94,643 BTC from the Bitfinex hack (seized from Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan), 69,370 BTC from Silk Road, and 127,271 BTC from a DOJ seizure described as the largest cryptocurrency forfeiture in Department of Justice history, according to The Block.
At the May 28, 2026 price of approximately $73,460 per BTC, the existing federal bitcoin holdings are valued at roughly $24.1 billion.
Three states have enacted bitcoin reserve legislation, creating a multi-jurisdictional framework that federal legislation would build upon:
New Hampshire (HB 302, signed May 6, 2025): Authorizes the state treasurer to invest up to 5% of total public funds in precious metals or digital assets with a market capitalization exceeding $500 billion. Bitcoin is currently the only digital asset meeting that threshold.
Texas (SB 21, signed June 2025): Establishes the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with statutory protections against future legislative dissolution. The Comptroller's office made its first purchase — approximately $5 million in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) — on November 20, 2025, when BTC traded at $91,336, according to CNBC.
Arizona (HB 2749, signed 2025): Creates the Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund under updated unclaimed property laws. Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a more aggressive companion bill (SB 1025) that would have authorized state treasurers and retirement systems to allocate up to 10% of state funds to digital assets.
According to Bitcoin Laws, a legislative tracker, Massachusetts, Ohio, and South Dakota have additional reserve-related legislation at various stages of committee review.
ARMA's 200,000 BTC annual target represents substantial market activity. At the May 28 price of $73,460, 200,000 BTC would cost approximately $14.7 billion per year, or $73.5 billion over the full five-year acquisition period.
For context:
The bill does not specify execution mechanics — whether purchases would occur via OTC desks, public auction, direct market orders, or through ETF accumulation. This absence is notable. A government entity buying 200,000 BTC per year through open markets would likely produce significant price impact, while OTC or structured acquisition could mitigate dislocation.
ARMA introduces several governance provisions absent from the executive order:
Mandatory lockup: All bitcoin deposited into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve must be held for a minimum of 20 years. During that period, the government is prohibited from selling, swapping, auctioning, or otherwise disposing of the assets. The only permitted exception: sales to reduce the national debt, which currently exceeds $39 trillion.
Proof-of-reserve: The bill mandates quarterly public reports demonstrating on-chain verification of holdings, similar to proof-of-reserve attestations used by some cryptocurrency exchanges.
Independent audits: Third-party auditors must verify holdings on a regular basis, separate from internal Treasury accounting.
Digital property rights: ARMA explicitly affirms that the federal government may not impair the lawful right of individuals to own, transfer, or self-custody digital assets. This provision extends beyond reserve policy into broader digital property law.
Agency accounting: All federal agencies are required to provide a full accounting of digital assets currently held or controlled, consolidating visibility into government crypto holdings that are currently scattered across multiple departments (DOJ, IRS, Marshals Service).
ARMA's 19 co-sponsors (including the two leads) are exclusively Republican, despite the bill being framed as bipartisan through Golden's co-leadership. Golden is a Democrat-turned-independent who now caucuses as a Republican.
The bill's path to becoming law requires:
The political calendar matters. The November 2026 midterm elections create urgency for proponents and leverage for opponents. ARMA's budget-neutral framing is designed to neutralize the "spending taxpayer money on crypto" attack that has stalled previous efforts.
The Clarity Act's recent advance through the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 (15-9 vote) demonstrates that crypto legislation can clear committee barriers, but floor votes remain unpredictable. At least 60 Senate votes are needed to overcome a filibuster.
ARMA represents the most structurally detailed attempt to codify the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve into law. Its gold certificate revaluation mechanism, if enacted, would simultaneously modernize an artifact of 1970s monetary policy and create the largest sovereign bitcoin accumulation program attempted by any nation.
The bill's prospects depend on three variables: whether the House Financial Services Committee schedules a markup before the midterm recess, whether the gold revaluation mechanism survives CBO scoring and legal review, and whether sufficient Senate votes exist to pass a reconciled bill. None of these outcomes is certain.
What is measurable is the policy trajectory. Eighteen months ago, a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve existed only as a campaign promise. Today, an executive order has halted government bitcoin sales, three states have enacted reserve legislation, and two federal bills propose acquiring 5% of global bitcoin supply using sovereign balance sheet engineering. The gap between political rhetoric and legislative architecture is narrowing. Whether it closes remains an open question.