The White House is preparing to announce a major new step on the United States’ strategic bitcoin reserve within weeks, as Congress weighs legislation that would make the program permanent and expand it significantly.
Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets and the administration’s top digital asset adviser, said the move will represent fresh executive action aimed at securing and clarifying management of the nation’s growing bitcoin holdings.
Witt spoke during a panel at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, noting that work on the reserve’s operational and legal framework has been underway since President Donald Trump signed an executive order in early 2025 establishing the program. Just over a week earlier, Witt had said the White House expected to unveil new executive measures and legislative plans for the reserve “in the next month or two.”
The White House declined to comment on the timing or content of the upcoming announcement.
Strategic bitcoin reserve built on seized assets
Trump’s 2025 directive created a federal bitcoin reserve and a separate digital asset repository, both funded primarily by bitcoin and other digital assets seized by the government in criminal and civil cases.
Those holdings have made the U.S. the largest known state holder of bitcoin. As of February 2026, public estimates placed federal holdings at about 328,000 BTC, much of it in the custody of law enforcement and other agencies before being consolidated into the reserve structure.
Witt said that while the reserve currently exists by executive order, additional measures are being designed to protect the assets and provide clearer legal rules for how they are managed and safeguarded.
From executive order to federal law
Because executive orders can be modified or revoked by future administrations, allies of the White House are moving to entrench the reserve in statute.
Soon after Trump’s order was issued, Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Representative Nick Begich of Alaska reintroduced the “Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act,” known as the BITCOIN Act. The bill is aimed at codifying the reserve and building a long-term policy framework around it.
In late March 2026, Lummis, joined by Senator Bill Cassidy, introduced a separate proposal, the “Mined in America Act.” That bill would also write the strategic bitcoin reserve into law while promoting the domestic digital asset mining industry, positioning U.S.-based mining as a national economic and strategic priority.
Plan calls for one million bitcoin over five years
The legislative effort goes beyond merely approving Trump’s original directive. The proposal seeks authority for the U.S. to acquire one million bitcoin over five years, using what sponsors describe as “budget-neutral” methods rather than new taxpayer-funded outlays.
Begich told attendees at the Las Vegas conference that the measure is moving forward under a new name: the American Reserves Modernization Act, or ARMA. He said the rebranding followed discussions with the House Financial Services Committee and was intended to broaden support on Capitol Hill.
“Why the renaming — because it's so important for people both in Congress and across the nation to understand what we're actually trying to do,” Begich said, arguing the bill is about ensuring “bitcoin is treated like the reserve asset that it is.”
Under the framework described by its backers, government-held digital assets currently scattered across multiple agencies would be consolidated and managed under a structure more consistent with a national reserve model.
Another executive move expected before Congress acts
Witt said the administration expects to take at least one more executive step on the reserve before Congress completes work on ARMA or related bills. He characterized the forthcoming announcement as progress from the executive branch in securing the country’s digital asset reserves and clarifying how they will be handled in the interim.
While details remain undisclosed, the combined push from the White House and key lawmakers points to a broader strategy: formalizing bitcoin’s role within the U.S. reserve framework and locking in long-term policy before any potential change in administration or congressional control.
Want deeper context on this policy shift? Explore how a bitcoin strategic reserve could reshape long-term crypto markets.
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