Congressman Tom Emmer said at the Digital Asset Summit that he is confident the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will be approved before the end of the current Congress. The BITCOIN ACT aims to acquire 1 million BTC over the course of five years, with a minimum holding period of 20 years.
The President will reportedly speak at the Digital Asset Summit in New York today. It was reported that Trump’s speech will mark the first time a sitting U.S president has ever spoken at a cryptocurrency conference. Co-founder of Blockworks Jason Yanowitz stated that they could barely get someone from a bank to attend an event when they started the company. He acknowledged that now they had a sitting U.S. President addressing 2,500 institutional participants.
Tom Emmer says Bitcoin Act will be enacted before end of this Congress
"I believe that before this Congress is done, [The Bitcoin Act] will be enacted." – @GOPMajorityWhip on establishing a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reservepic.twitter.com/mmb5bpCkc7
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) March 19, 2025
Congressman and Vice Chairman of the Digital Asset Subcommittee Tom Emmer believes that the BITCOIN ACT will be enacted before the end of the current Congress. During the Digital Asset Summit, he acknowledged that he was confident about the multiple bills needed to implement state-level Bitcoin reserves. Bitcoin Laws has also revealed that 23 U.S. States had filed legislation proposing Bitcoin reserves.
“So, yes, there is legislation. And I believe that before this Congress is done, that will be enacted.”
-Tom Emmer, U.S. Congressman and Vice Chairman of the Digital Assets Subcommittee.
The Congressman also maintained that the Digital Assets Subcommittee was deeply interested in stablecoins. He said that the crypto subcommittee was focused on the dol lar-pegged digital assets since they represent an “enhanced form of currency” and expand access to the U.S. dollar.
The American politician referenced the recently reintroduced BITCOIN ACT authored by Senator Cynthia Lummis and cosponsored by five Republican Senators. The bill proposes that the U.S. government add up to 1 million BTC to its treasury over a period of five years. The legislation also authorizes funding from the Federal Reserve’s net earnings, which are adjusted to Treasury certificates based on the Fed’s gold holdings.
The U.S government will be required to hold the acquired amount for at least 20 years while being managed by the Treasury Department during the specified period. The Treasury Department will also be allowed to divest, but the bill prevents any Treasury Secretary from reducing more than 10% of the reserve within a two-year timeframe.
President Trump Introduces Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
U.S. President Donald Trump introduced the Bitcoin reserve plans in an executive order signed on March 6, which was separate from legislative efforts being made by lawmakers. The order also included a digital asset stockpile that will be separate and different in nature.
The order indicated that it will focus on maintaining crypto assets seized by U.S. authorities as a long-term store of value. It also does not establish timeframes for acquiring or holding virtual currencies. The presidential order highlighted that any digital assets purchased should happen through budget-neutral strategies devised by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
A senior White House official stated that the U.S. government holds about 200,000 BTC from forfeiture proceedings for its strategic reserve. The official acknowledged that the government came into possession of roughly 400,000 Bitcoin through various criminal and civil proceedings. He said that about half of the assets were sold off “in an ad hoc manner over the past decade or so.”
On-chain data from Arkham intelligence showed that the U.S. government currently holds around $17.4 billion in its digital asset portfolio. A big chunk of it ($16.9 billion) is in Bitcoin, with another $122 million in Ether, $122 million in Tether’s USDT and $25 million in BNB.
The Executive Director of the White House’s President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, Bo Hines, alluded to the government’s desire to stockpile BTC for its recently announced Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Hines mentioned that it was high time that Trump started accumulating assets for the American people, “which is what President Trump is doing rather than taking them away.”
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