Congress Backs Permanent Bitcoin Reserve With Bipartisan Bill
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, established by executive order on March 6, is moving toward permanent law as bipartisan legislation gains momentum. Treasury must complete legal and investment evaluations for acquiring additional bitcoin by May 5.
Key Takeaway
Congressional backing could turn the reserve from executive order to permanent law by year-end.
President's Council of Advisers for Digital Assets Executive Director Patrick Witt told the Economic Club of New York on March 9 that legislation to make the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve permanent has bipartisan backing.
Witt said bills could be marked up in advance and potentially attached to must-pass legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act. Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed the BITCOIN Act of 2026, which calls for Treasury to purchase 1 million BTC over five years. The bill was referred to the Senate Banking Committee, with markup expected by summer 2026.
The U.S. government currently holds approximately 328,000 BTC from criminal and civil asset forfeitures, making it the world's largest state holder of Bitcoin. The executive order signed on March 6 mandates that Treasury develop budget-neutral strategies for expansion — meaning no incremental costs to taxpayers — and prohibits selling bitcoin already in the reserve. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed expansion efforts beyond forfeitures at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood predicted the U.S. will start buying bitcoin on the market. She said if the government moves beyond just adding confiscated bitcoin to actually purchasing, that would trigger scarcity value to reassert itself.
The reserve has drawn mixed reactions from economists while several state governments launched similar projects. Federal agencies must account for all digital asset holdings to Treasury and the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets by April 5.
This article was written based on reporting from Bitcoinist.
