Arch Lending Backs the Nation's First Community-Run Bitcoin Reserve

The Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve was founded in early 2025 by Tolbyus Shephard, who grew up in Altgeld Gardens, with the support of Bernadette Williams, president of the Altgeld Gardens Local Advisory Council. On October 14, 2025, the Illinois House adopted House Resolution 446, which recognized ABR as the nation's first community-run Bitcoin reserve and commended Altgeld Gardens for its leadership in financial empowerment.

Altgeld Gardens: A History of Resilience and Community Empowerment

Built in the 1940s to house Black World War II veterans, defense workers, and their families, Altgeld Gardens has a long history of community organizing and resilience.

The neighborhood later became known as the "Toxic Doughnut" because of the industrial pollution, landfills, and waste facilities surrounding it. Resident Hazel Johnson became a pioneer of the environmental justice movement, founding People for Community Recovery in 1979 to campaign for safer living conditions. In the 1980s, a young Barack Obama worked alongside Altgeld residents as a community organizer, years before becoming President of the United States.

For Tolbyus Shephard, who grew up in Altgeld Gardens, the reserve builds on that history by creating a community-owned financial asset intended to benefit future generations.