US Crypto Roundup: Bitcoin Reserve Bill Clears House Panel as Fed Rate Hike Tests Market Nerves

House Panel Clears Path for a Permanent Bitcoin Reserve

The House Financial Services Committee voted 28-21 along party lines on Wednesday to advance the American Reserve Modernization Act (H.R. 8957), legislation that would convert President Trump's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve from an executive order into federal statute, marking the furthest a bitcoin reserve bill has traveled in Congress. The 19-page bill directs the Treasury Department to build a secure storage facility for bitcoin the government already holds through criminal and civil forfeiture, and creates a separate digital asset stockpile for non-bitcoin holdings. The federal government currently holds roughly 328,000 bitcoin in total reserves.

A substitute version from Rep. Bryan Steil, adopted by voice vote before the final tally, dropped the gold and Federal Reserve funding mechanisms that had been floated for buying more bitcoin, and cut proof-of-reserve reporting from quarterly to annual. An amendment from ranking member Maxine Waters that would have barred the president, vice president, and members of Congress — along with their spouses and children — from holding a controlling stake in any digital asset failed on the same 21-28 line. Bitcoin deposited into the reserve would have to remain there for at least 20 years, during which it could not be sold, swapped, auctioned, or otherwise disposed of.

The bill now moves to the full House, where no floor vote date has been set, and it would still need to pass the Senate before becoming law.

The Fed's Rate Hike Adds a New Variable

The reserve vote landed a day after the Federal Reserve delivered its first interest-rate increase since July 2023, lifting the federal funds target range by a quarter point to 3.75%-4.00%. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh told reporters there's nothing suggesting the economy is slowing, adding that policymakers had removed a degree of monetary accommodation, while updated projections showed twelve of eighteen officials expect at least one more hike in 2026.

Bitcoin's reaction was muted relative to the hawkish tone, since the move had been priced in at roughly a 92% probability heading into the decision. The asset traded around $75,000 immediately after the announcement before moving back above $76,000. Some traders are watching the parallel to March 2022, the last time the Fed opened a hiking cycle from a similar drawdown level — bitcoin rallied 18% over the following twelve days before sliding 50% over several months, a stretch that included the collapse of FTX.

What It Means for U.S. Crypto Policy

Together, the two stories capture the split screen defining U.S. crypto policy right now: legislative momentum toward locking in government bitcoin holdings, alongside a monetary backdrop that remains a headwind for risk assets. The reserve bill still has a long road through the full House and Senate, and the Fed has left the door open to further tightening — but both developments underline how central Washington has become to bitcoin's near-term trajectory.

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