Bitcoin Reserve Bill to Codify Trump’s Executive Order Gets Champion in Nashville.
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- Rep. Matt Van Epps drafted the American Reserve Modernization Act as an extension of Nashville’s growing Bitcoin ecosystem.
- ARMA will secure federally owned bitcoins for a minimum of 20 years and allow the Treasury to acquire up to 1 million bitcoins over five years.
- Van Eps pointed to the $39 trillion national debt as the central argument for the legislation.
pregnancy. Van Eps died He said Bitcoin Magazine says the US Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 is a direct reflection of what he sees happening in his region. “Nashville is one of the leaders in the country Bitcoin Van Epps said, referring to Bitcoin Park, the city’s digital asset community, and the annual Bitcoin Conference that returns to Nashville in 2027.
Van Epps is one of the 18 original cosponsors of ARMA, which was introduced by Rep. Nick Begich on May 21 along with Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. The bill would codify President Trump’s March 2025 executive order establishing a strategic reserve of bitcoin, giving it legal permanence that no future administration could reverse with the stroke of a pen.
What the ARMA bill would actually do
“With a national debt of $39 trillion, this is essential legislation,” Van Epps said. Under ARMA, any future sale of bitcoin from the reserve will be allowed for only one purpose: reducing the national debt.
The bill would place the reserve within the US Treasury and allow the holding of up to 200,000 bitcoins annually for five years, targeting 1 million coins. All properties will be locked up for a minimum of 20 years. The segregated digital asset inventory would contain non-Bitcoin digital assets that are already in federal custody.
Such as crypto.news I mentionedARMA is based on the framework of the previous BITCOIN Act that Begich introduced with Senator Cynthia Lummis in March 2025. The US government currently holds an estimated 328,372 BTC accumulated through law enforcement seizures, including the proceeds of the Silk Road takedown and recovery of the 2022 Bitfinex hack.
The bill also asserts that the federal government may not impair individuals’ legal right to own, transfer, or self-custody digital assets. He directs a study on budget-neutral acquisition strategies to evaluate ways to expand reserves without increasing taxes or deficit spending.
White House cryptocurrency adviser Patrick Witt said at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in late April that a “hack” related to the administration’s Bitcoin reserve plans could happen in the coming weeks. The accompanying Senate version from Senators Lummis and Cassidy includes similar codification provisions.
