PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 11, 2025
Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act of 2025 or the BITCOIN Act of 2025
This bill provides for the acquisition and storage of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin by the U.S. government.
The Department of the Treasury must purchase one million Bitcoins over a five-year period and hold the Bitcoins in trust for the United States. The bill also allows for additional acquisitions through specified transfers, forfeitures, and gifts. All Bitcoins acquired by the United States and placed into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve must be held for at least 20 years. At the end of this period and upon the recommendation of Treasury, a percentage of the holdings may be sold to reduce the national debt. The bill also establishes exceptions to this holding period for specified Bitcoin asset distributions and splits.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill directs Treasury to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the secure storage of U.S. Bitcoins. The reserve must be a decentralized network of secure facilities across the United States. Existing U.S. Bitcoin holdings must be transferred to the reserve. States may voluntarily store Bitcoin holdings in the reserve in segregated accounts.
The bill also reduces the total amount of U.S. dollars Federal Reserve banks may hold in surplus and requires Federal Reserve banks to remit a certain amount of net earnings annually to the purchase of Bitcoins.
The bill also allows the use of Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund to carry out purchases made under this bill.
People & committees
Rep. Begich, Nicholas [R-AK-At Large] · R–AK
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Jan 26, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-11 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed BITCOIN Act would create a Treasury-run reserve for government Bitcoin and require a program to buy 1 million Bitcoins over five years, with adjustments and offsets allowed. Federal Bitcoin deposited in the reserve would generally have to stay there for at least 20 years. States could voluntarily store their own Bitcoin in separate accounts. The bill would direct specified Federal Reserve earnings and payments from revaluing gold certificates toward purchases.
The Secretary shall establish a decentralized network of secure Bitcoin storage facilities distributed across the United States
purchase 200,000 Bitcoins per year over a 5-year period, for a total acquisition of 1,000,000 Bitcoins
The Secretary shall, by rule, establish a procedure to adjust the purchase schedule set forth under paragraph (1), if necessary, based on prevailing market conditions.
Any Bitcoin transferred to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve under section 7 may offset the purchase requirements under paragraph (1).
the Secretary shall hold all Bitcoin acquired by the United States and deposited in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, regardless of acquisition method, for not less than 20 years from the date of acquisition.
The Secretary shall establish a program that allows a State to voluntarily participate in storing the Bitcoin holdings of the State in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in a segregated account.
the first $6,000,000,000 of these remittances (before repayment of any deferred asset) in a fiscal year shall be utilized by the Secretary for the implementation of the Bitcoin Purchase Program
Funds remitted to the Secretary under subsection (c) shall be allocated as follows: (A) An amount necessary to fund the Bitcoin Purchase Program, as established in section 5, shall be reserved for that purpose
Section 1 would name the proposal the BITCOIN Act of 2025. Its findings present Bitcoin ownership as a way to strengthen federal finances and financial resilience; those statements express the bill's rationale, rather than establish that these effects would occur.
This Act may be cited as the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act of 2025 or the BITCOIN Act of 2025.
Congress finds the following:
The acquisition and long-term storage of substantial quantities of Bitcoin by the United States can strengthen the financial condition of the United States, providing a hedge against economic uncertainty and monetary instability.
Diversification of the national assets of the United States to include Bitcoin can enhance financial resilience
Treasury would establish geographically dispersed facilities to generate, safeguard, and manage the private keys needed to transact in government Bitcoin. The keys would use cold storage: storage tied to a secure physical location and isolated from network connections. Treasury would monitor and audit the holdings.
The term cold storage means a method of storing private keys required to transact in Bitcoin, with a nexus to a secure physical location, protected from unauthorized access and isolated from any network connections.
The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve shall be used for the generation, safekeeping, and management of Bitcoin private keys associated with Government Bitcoin holdings.
The Secretary shall be responsible for the ongoing monitoring and auditing of the holdings of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The Secretary shall ensure that the facilities of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve are geographically dispersed throughout the United States
Treasury would choose facility locations through a risk assessment prioritizing geographic diversity, security, and accessibility. It would implement physical and digital security measures and consult the Defense and Homeland Security secretaries and industry experts.
The Secretary shall select the locations for the facilities described in paragraph (1) based on a comprehensive risk assessment, prioritizing geographic diversity, security, and accessibility.
The Secretary shall implement state-of-the-art physical and digital security measures to protect the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The Secretary shall consult and collaborate with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and industry experts
The reserve would account for and reasonably store assets received from Bitcoin forks—changes that create a separate ledger and digital asset—and airdrops, meaning free, broadly distributed assets. These assets could not be sold or otherwise disposed of for five years after the fork or airdrop unless a law explicitly allowed it.
The term fork means a change to the consensus mechanism of a distributed ledger that creates a separate ledger, resulting in a new digital asset that shares a common transaction history with Bitcoin up to the point of the change.
The term airdrop means a gratuitous distribution of digital assets to holders of Bitcoin in a broad, equitable, and non-discretionary manner.
all digital assets resulting from forks of the Bitcoin distributed ledger and digital assets distributed via airdrops to Bitcoin addresses are accounted for and reasonably stored in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
No digital asset stored in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that is the result of a fork or airdrop may be sold or otherwise disposed of during the 5-year period beginning on the date of the fork or airdrop, unless explicitly authorized by law.
After the five-year period, Treasury would assess fork-created assets and retain the one with the highest publicly traded market capitalization, or total market value. It could dispose of other fork-created assets and deposit proceeds in Treasury's general fund. After consulting Commerce and industry experts, it could recommend that Congress retain an otherwise non-dominant asset with distinct technological utility or strategic value.
Upon the expiration of the 5-year holding period described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall conduct an assessment to determine which digital asset resulting from a fork has the highest publicly traded market capitalization.
The Secretary shall retain the digital asset with the highest publicly traded market capitalization that resulted from the fork.
The Secretary may sell, auction, or otherwise dispose of any digital assets resulting from the fork other than the asset identified in subparagraph (B), with the proceeds from such disposition to be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.
If the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and industry experts, determines that a non-dominant forked asset possesses novel technological utility or strategic value to the United States distinct from the dominant asset, the Secretary may recommend to Congress the retention of such asset
The purchase program would require 200,000 Bitcoins per year for five years, totaling 1 million. Treasury would establish a rule allowing schedule adjustments when market conditions require them, and federal transfers could offset purchase requirements. Purchases would have to be transparent and strategic, with minimizing market disruption as an objective, and all purchased Bitcoin would enter the reserve.
purchase 200,000 Bitcoins per year over a 5-year period, for a total acquisition of 1,000,000 Bitcoins
conduct purchases in a transparent and strategic manner to minimize market disruption
The Secretary shall, by rule, establish a procedure to adjust the purchase schedule set forth under paragraph (1), if necessary, based on prevailing market conditions.
Any Bitcoin transferred to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve under section 7 may offset the purchase requirements under paragraph (1).
All Bitcoins purchased under the Bitcoin Purchase Program shall be placed in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
All Bitcoin acquired by the United States and deposited in the reserve would have a minimum holding period of 20 years from acquisition, regardless of how it was obtained. During that period, reserve Bitcoin could not be sold, swapped, auctioned, pledged or otherwise burdened with an obligation, or otherwise disposed of.
the Secretary shall hold all Bitcoin acquired by the United States and deposited in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, regardless of acquisition method, for not less than 20 years from the date of acquisition.
During the minimum holding period under paragraph (1), no Bitcoin held in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve may be sold, swapped, auctioned, encumbered, or otherwise disposed of for any purpose.
Two years before the minimum holding period ends, Treasury would recommend whether Congress should continue holding the Bitcoin or allow gradual releases solely to reduce national debt. Once the holding period expires, Treasury could not recommend selling more than 10 percent of reserve assets in any two-year period. These are requirements for recommendations, not a mandate to sell.
On the date that is 2 years before the end of the minimum holding period under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress recommendations on whether to continue to voluntarily hold or to allow for the gradual and controlled release of a portion of the holdings of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the sole purpose of reducing the national debt.
Upon the expiration of the minimum holding period, the Secretary shall not recommend selling more than 10 percent of the assets of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve during any 2-year period.
Treasury would publish a public report on the purchase program within one year after enactment and annually thereafter for 20 years.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for a period of 20 years, the Secretary shall publish an annual public report on the status of the Bitcoin Purchase Program.
Federal holdings could exceed 1 million Bitcoins through agency transfers, civil or criminal forfeitures, gifts, bequests, or other lawful means apart from direct purchases under this program. Those additional holdings would enter the reserve under the same security, audit, reporting, and minimum holding requirements. This provision would not authorize purchases above the program's limit.
the United States may acquire and hold Bitcoin in excess of 1,000,000 Bitcoins if such Bitcoin is acquired through— (A) transfers from Federal agencies pursuant to section 7; (B) civil or criminal forfeitures; (C) gifts or bequests made to the United States; or (D) any other lawful means other than direct purchase under the Bitcoin Purchase Program.
Any Bitcoin acquired pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— (A) be placed in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve; (B) be subject to the same security, auditing, and reporting requirements as Bitcoin acquired through the Bitcoin Purchase Program; and (C) be subject to the minimum holding period established in subsection (c)(1).
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to purchase Bitcoin in excess of the limits established in subsection (a)(1)(A) through the Bitcoin Purchase Program.
Treasury would operate an ongoing proof-of-reserves system: public cryptographic evidence of its holdings and control of transaction keys. Quarterly reports would disclose holdings, transactions, and demonstrated key control on Treasury's website. An independent specialist auditor would verify the reports, and the Comptroller General would regularly oversee the reserve, reports, and audits for compliance.
the Secretary shall establish an ongoing Proof of Reserve system of public cryptographic attestation
publish quarterly reports on the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that include detailed information on the total holdings, transactions, and demonstrated control of private keys relating to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, including a public cryptographic attestation
make the quarterly reports available to the public on an official website of the Department of Treasury
select an independent, third-party auditor with expertise in cryptographic attestations to verify the accuracy and integrity of the quarterly reports
the Comptroller General of the United States shall, to ensure compliance with this Act, conduct regular oversight of— (A) the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve; (B) the quarterly reports under paragraph (1)(A); and (C) the audits under paragraph (1)(C).
Starting on enactment, federal agencies could not sell, swap, auction, or otherwise burden Bitcoin under their control with an obligation. Agency heads would transfer it to the reserve once the agency acquired legal ownership, including after a final forfeiture judgment that could no longer be appealed.
Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, any Bitcoin under the control of any Federal agency, including the United States Marshal Service, shall— (1) not be sold, swapped, auctioned, or otherwise encumbered; and (2) upon the acquisition of legal title to such Bitcoin (including after a final, unappealable judgment is entered in a criminal or civil forfeiture action in favor of the Federal agency), be transferred by the head of such Federal agency to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
States could voluntarily use separate reserve accounts under contracts defining management and security responsibilities. States would coordinate security and access controls with Treasury and retain ownership and associated legal interests in their Bitcoin and related fork or airdrop assets.
The Secretary shall establish a program that allows a State to voluntarily participate in storing the Bitcoin holdings of the State in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in a segregated account.
A State choosing to participate in the program established under subsection (a) shall sign a contractual agreement outlining the terms and conditions of participation
the responsibilities of both the State and the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in managing and securing the Bitcoin holdings of the State in the segregated account of the State
a requirement that the State, in coordination with the Secretary, develop and implement appropriate security protocols and access controls
retention of title, and all attendant legal interests, by the State in the Bitcoin held in the segregated account, including title to any digital asset that is the result of a fork or airdrop relating to such Bitcoin.
Participating states would have a right to withdraw or transfer their account contents, subject to their contracts and applicable federal regulations.
Each State participating in the program established under subsection (a) shall have the right to withdraw or transfer the contents of the segregated account of the State within the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, subject to the terms and conditions in the signed contractual agreement under subsection (b) and any applicable Federal regulations.
The federal government would receive a special liability protection for reserve assets: despite other laws, it would not be liable for loss, theft, destruction, or inaccessibility unless responsible officials committed gross negligence or willful misconduct. State agreements would acknowledge custody risks and state that the state assumes all risks of voluntarily placing its assets in the reserve.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government shall not be liable for any loss, theft, destruction, or inaccessibility of Bitcoin or other digital assets held in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct by the Secretary or officials responsible for the management of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Any agreement entered into under subsection (b) shall include an explicit acknowledgment by the State that digital asset custody carries inherent risks that cannot be eliminated completely, and that the State assumes all risks associated with the voluntary placement of its digital assets in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The bill would replace $6.825 billion with $2.4 billion in the cited Federal Reserve Act provision concerning reserve-bank surplus funds. The surrounding statute is not reproduced, so the supplied text supports this numerical change without establishing its full operation.
Discretionary surplus funds of federal reserve banks Section 7(a)(3)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 289(a)(3)(A)) is amended by striking $6,825,000,000and inserting $2,400,000,000.
For fiscal years 2025 through 2029, the first $6 billion each year in Federal Reserve bank net earnings sent to Treasury would fund implementation of the Bitcoin Purchase Program. This priority would apply before repayment of any deferred asset, an accounting item the bill does not define. The requirement would not apply in years when the banks sent no net earnings.
for fiscal years 2025 through 2029, if the Federal reserve banks remit net earnings to the general fund of the Treasury during that period, the first $6,000,000,000 of these remittances (before repayment of any deferred asset) in a fiscal year shall be utilized by the Secretary for the implementation of the Bitcoin Purchase Program
Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the Federal Reserve banks do not remit net earnings in any given fiscal year during the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
Federal Reserve banks would surrender their outstanding gold certificates within 180 days after enactment. Within 90 days after the last certificate was surrendered, Treasury would issue replacements reflecting the market value of the gold backing them, using a date Treasury specified on each certificate. Banks receiving replacements would pay Treasury the difference in cash value within 90 days for deposit in the general fund.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal reserve banks shall tender all outstanding gold certificates in their custody to the Secretary.
Not later than 90 days after the tender of the last such certificate, the Secretary shall issue new gold certificates to the Federal reserve banks that reflect the fair market value price of the gold held against such certificates by the Treasury, as of the date specified by the Secretary on each new gold certificate.
Upon issue by the Secretary, each Federal reserve bank that receives a new gold certificate shall remit the difference in cash value between the old and new gold certificates to the Secretary for deposit in the general fund within 90 days.
Gold-certificate payments would first be reserved for the purchase program, up to the amount needed to buy 1 million Bitcoins. Excess funds would go to Treasury's general fund to reduce public debt. Treasury would use the reserved payments for Bitcoin purchases before using the specified Federal Reserve earnings and would report annually on the payments and their allocation.
An amount necessary to fund the Bitcoin Purchase Program, as established in section 5, shall be reserved for that purpose, up to the full amount required to purchase 1,000,000 Bitcoins under the program.
Any funds in excess of the amount necessary to fully fund the Bitcoin Purchase Program shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury to reduce the public debt.
Funds allocated under paragraph (1)(A) shall be used for Bitcoin purchases under the Bitcoin Purchase Program before utilizing the remittances described in subsection (b) for such purchases.
The Secretary shall include in the annual report required under section 5(d) an accounting of all funds received under subsection (c) and their allocation pursuant to this subsection.
A related amendment would delete the specified gold-certificate valuation language of 42 and two-ninths dollars per fine troy ounce, a unit of gold weight, from the cited statute. The rest of that statute is not supplied.
Section 5117(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking (for the purpose of issuing those certificates, of 42 and two-ninths dollars a fine troy ounce).
The bill would not authorize federal seizure or impairment of lawfully acquired Bitcoin or interference with lawful purchases, holdings, transfers, or disposal by individuals, businesses, or organizations. It also affirms lawful control over Bitcoin and other digital assets, including self-custody—keeping control of one's own private keys.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— (1) authorize the Federal Government to seize, confiscate, or otherwise impair any property right in the lawfully acquired Bitcoin holdings of any person; or (2) infringe upon the rights of individuals, businesses, or organizations to purchase, hold, transfer, or dispose of Bitcoin in accordance with the law.
This Act affirms and protects the rights of persons to maintain full lawful control over the Bitcoin and other digital assets of those individuals, recognizing that the ability to maintain self-custody of private keys is fundamental
The bill would add Bitcoin to the asset list in the statute governing the Exchange Stabilization Fund, an existing federal fund, and add a reference to the new purchase program. Treasury would coordinate program purchases with any Bitcoin purchases through that fund. The complete existing statute is not supplied, limiting conclusions about the fund's resulting authority.
in subsection (a)(1), by inserting after section 3 of the Special Drawing Rights Act (22 U.S.C.286o), the following: section 5 of the BITCOIN Act of 2025,
in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by striking gold, foreign exchange, and other instruments of credit and securities and inserting gold, Bitcoin, foreign exchange, and other instruments of credit and securities.
The Secretary shall coordinate Bitcoin purchases made through the Bitcoin Purchase Program with any Bitcoin purchases made through the Exchange Stabilization Fund under section 5302 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 11 of this Act.
The Exchange Stabilization Fund's statutory reporting provisions would gain requirements for detailed accounting of Bitcoin transactions and holdings, including Bitcoin purchased, sold, or held during the preceding year.
Section 5302(c) of title 31, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after all projected liabilities the following: , including a detailed accounting of any Bitcoin transactions and holdings; and (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after on the operation of the fund the following: , including a specific accounting of any Bitcoin purchased, sold, or held by the fund during the preceding year.
The official-actions snapshot updated January 26, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Financial Services on March 11, 2025. This snapshot does not establish what happened afterward.
Source snapshot updated 2026-01-26T17:15:06Z. 2025-03-11: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 2025-03-11: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-11. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish what other versions or accompanying materials contain.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This text-only conclusion does not establish formal earmark status or absence in accompanying materials or other versions.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a program-specific liability exemption. This classification identifies special legal treatment without judging its justification.
Section 8 would specially protect the federal government from liability for loss, theft, destruction, or inaccessibility of assets held in the reserve, overriding other law except where responsible officials committed gross negligence or willful misconduct. This protection directly concerns the proposed custody program; participating states would also have to acknowledge that they assume its custody risks.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government shall not be liable for any loss, theft, destruction, or inaccessibility of Bitcoin or other digital assets held in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct by the Secretary or officials responsible for the management of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Any agreement entered into under subsection (b) shall include an explicit acknowledgment by the State that digital asset custody carries inherent risks that cannot be eliminated completely, and that the State assumes all risks associated with the voluntary placement of its digital assets in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jan 26, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI