Two committees of the U.S. House of Representatives advanced digital-asset legislation on September 16. The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve by a 28-21 vote, while the Ways and Means Committee advanced a digital-asset tax bill by 38-5. Neither measure is close to becoming law: both still require approval by the full House, consideration in the Senate and the president's signature.
The votes came one day after the Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act. On September 15, senators did not secure the procedural vote needed to end debate, temporarily stalling legislation intended to create a clearer regulatory framework for the crypto industry. The House committee actions show that work on digital-asset policy is continuing along separate tracks focused on Bitcoin reserves and tax rules.
H.R. 8957 would create a strategic Bitcoin reserve
The House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act, introduced in May by Representative Nick Begich. The bill would place Bitcoin obtained by the federal government through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings into a Treasury reserve and require it to be held for at least 20 years. Other digital assets would be managed under a separate reserve structure.
Representative Bryan Steil said the federal government should not continue holding Bitcoin under fragmented and inconsistent custody arrangements. The bill would require the Treasury to centrally hold Bitcoin and other digital assets acquired through final forfeiture proceedings. Its central purpose is not to authorize immediate government purchases of Bitcoin in the market, but to establish rules for the custody, consolidation and long-term holding of assets already under government control.
Blockchain data firm Arkham Intelligence estimated that the U.S. government held 324,527 Bitcoin at the time of publication, worth approximately $24.8 billion at the prevailing price. If H.R. 8957 becomes law, those government-controlled assets could form a significant part of the proposed reserve structure. The bill's effect on management arrangements, disposal authority and implementation details will depend on the final legislative text and subsequent administrative action.
Digital-asset tax bill clears Ways and Means
The House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 10357, the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, by a vote of 38-5. Committee Chairman Jason Smith introduced the bill on September 14. It seeks to establish a federal tax framework for digital assets and extend wash-sale rules to digital-asset transactions.
Wash-sale rules generally limit an investor's ability to claim a tax loss after selling an asset at a loss and buying back the same or a substantially similar asset within a short period. Applying those rules to digital assets could change how some traders and institutions report losses, replace holdings and maintain transaction records. The bill's precise definition of digital assets and the transactions subject to the restrictions will depend on the full text and later regulatory interpretation.
Smith called the measure the first substantive federal legislation addressing the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. He also said that roughly one-quarter of the U.S. population owns some form of cryptocurrency, representing more than 67 million people. That scale means changes to tax rules could affect individual holders and digital-asset payment activity as well as professional trading firms and related businesses.
Both measures face additional votes
The two bills have cleared committees but are not federal law. Each must pass the full House, proceed through the Senate and receive the president's signature. The 119th Congress is scheduled to end in January next year, leaving the remaining legislative calendar as another factor in whether the measures can complete the process.
After the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate, the House committees moved forward with Bitcoin-reserve and tax legislation, creating two more specific paths for digital-asset policy. Market participants will be watching whether forfeited Bitcoin is formally placed in a long-term reserve, how other digital assets are treated under a separate arrangement, and whether the scope of wash-sale rules and tax-reporting requirements changes during House and Senate consideration.