U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act: Wednesday Committee Vote

A widely circulated headline says the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act heads to a committee vote on Wednesday, but that scheduling claim is unverified: no official committee agenda, notice, or independent report confirming a Wednesday markup or vote could be located, even as the underlying federal proposal, the BITCOIN Act of 2025, is a real bill with a documented text and a March 2025 referral to the Senate Banking Committee.

The identifiable federal measure is S. 954, whose official short title is the BITCOIN Act of 2025, expanded as the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act of 2025, per the introduced bill text published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office. For related coverage, see Strategy Raises $334M From MSTR Stock Sale as Bitcoin Holdings Stay Unchanged.

Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the bill on March 11, 2025 (legislative day March 10); it was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, an entry that records referral, not a committee vote. Blockhead reported on March 12, 2025 that Lummis had reintroduced the measure the prior day, without reporting any scheduled Wednesday committee vote. For related coverage, see Twenty One Capital Q2 Loss Hits $414M as New CEO Signals Strategy Beyond Bitcoin Treasury Model.

What is confirmed, and what stays conditional

Confirmed: the bill's identity, sponsor, and its March 2025 referral to committee. Unconfirmed: the headline's core premise that S. 954, or any identically themed proposal, faces a committee vote on a specific Wednesday. Introduced bill text is not an up-to-date legislative status record, and Congress.gov's action history was inaccessible during research.

Treat the Wednesday vote as an unverified report. No dated committee notice, agenda, or corroborating secondary source established the schedule, the chamber, or whether the action would be a hearing, a markup, or a vote.

What the proposed reserve would do

Section 5(a)(1) proposes purchases of 200,000 Bitcoins per year over a five-year period, for a total acquisition target of 1,000,000 Bitcoins, framed as a proposed requirement rather than completed purchases.

Proposed five-year Bitcoin acquisition target

1,000,000 BTC

S. 954, introduced March 11, 2025, proposes 200,000 BTC annually for five years under section 5(a)(1). Section 5(a)(3) permits transferred government Bitcoin to offset purchase requirements, so the target need not equal net new market buying. This is a proposal, not completed purchases or an enacted requirement. Source: GovInfo, introduced bill text.

Section 5(a)(3) allows Bitcoin transferred into the reserve under section 7 to offset those purchase requirements, so the acquisition target need not equal net new market buying, a nuance that separates this proposal from a mandate for one million fresh open-market purchases.

Section 5(c) proposes a minimum holding period of 20 years from acquisition for Bitcoin acquired by the United States and deposited in the reserve, regardless of acquisition method.

Proposed minimum reserve holding period

20 years

Section 5(c) of S. 954, introduced March 11, 2025, proposes holding Bitcoin acquired by the United States and deposited in the reserve for at least 20 years from acquisition, regardless of acquisition method. This is a proposed rule; the introduced text does not establish current legislative status or a Wednesday committee vote. Source: GovInfo, introduced bill text.

Section 6 proposes quarterly public reports covering holdings, transactions, and demonstrated control of private keys, including public cryptographic attestation and verification by an independent third-party auditor, a proof-of-reserves disclosure regime that would sit alongside the acquisition rules.

How the bill differs from the existing executive reserve

The statutory proposal is distinct from the executive framework already in place. A White House executive order dated March 6, 2025 directed creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve capitalized with qualifying finally forfeited Treasury Bitcoin, subject to statutory requirements and the order's exceptions, according to the order.

That order also directed Treasury and Commerce to develop budget-neutral strategies to acquire additional government Bitcoin at no incremental cost to taxpayers, a mechanism echoed in reporting on how federal Bitcoin holdings can grow without a direct buying program. The bill, by contrast, would legislate an explicit purchase schedule.

For policy watchers tracking parallel digital-asset legislation, the same committee dynamics have shaped fights over the CLARITY Act and warnings about how BRCA amendments could affect a criminal safe harbor, underscoring that committee referral is an early step, not enactment.

What to watch next

The concrete milestone to confirm is a published Senate Banking Committee agenda naming S. 954, a date, and the specific action; until that appears, the Wednesday vote should be read as an unconfirmed report rather than a scheduled event. Committee approval alone, if it were to occur, would advance the bill but would not enact it.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.

The post U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act: Wednesday Committee Vote was initially published on Coincu.