The US Bitcoin reserve faces a crucial bipartisan test Wednesday

The American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA) would put the federal government's Bitcoin reserve into law for the first time. But ahead of its first House committee vote on Sept. 16, the bill has attracted just one Democratic cosponsor, and he does not sit on the committee considering it.

That goes against Congress's broader crypto push. Seventy-eight House Democrats voted for the CLARITY Act in 2025 after the crypto market structure bill advanced through the House Financial Services Committee on a bipartisan 32-19 vote.

The difference is what lawmakers are being asked to support now.

CLARITY establishes rules for private crypto markets. ARMA asks Congress to make Bitcoin a formal Federal Reserve asset and make the existing reserve harder for a future president to reverse unilaterally.

H.R. 8957 enters Wednesday's House Financial Services markup with 23 cosponsors, according to the committee materials. Twenty-two are Republicans. The only Democrat is Maine Rep. Jared Golden, who does not sit on Financial Services.

Cross-referencing the cosponsor list with the committee roster shows six Republican committee members backing the bill and none of the panel's 23 Democrats.

That sets up a straightforward test on Sept. 16: does the bipartisan coalition that supported rules for crypto markets extend to putting Bitcoin on the federal government's balance sheet?