United States Crypto Reserve: Treasury-Commerce Turf War Stalls Trump’s $20B Bitcoin Plan

Last Updated: September 22, 2026

The US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve took its most concrete legislative step yet on September 16, when the House Financial Services Committee voted 28-21 to advance H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act, which would codify the reserve into federal law for the first time. The move comes more than 18 months after President Trump’s March 2025 executive order established the reserve, a period during which the effort has existed primarily as a policy directive rather than binding law, with the government’s roughly 328,372 $BTC holdings, worth approximately $28.2 billion at current prices, still awaiting formal congressional backing.

Key Takeaways

The House Financial Services Committee advanced H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act, in a 28-21 vote on September 16, 2026, moving the bill into committee approved status ahead of a potential full House vote.

The legislation would direct the Treasury Department to maintain a secure Bitcoin storage facility, formally codifying President Trump’s March 2025 executive order into binding federal law for the first time.

The US government holds an estimated 328,372 $BTC, worth roughly $28.2 billion at today’s prices, making it the largest known state Bitcoin holder in the world, though this stockpile was accumulated entirely through criminal and civil forfeiture rather than open market purchases.