The US plans to buy 5% of all Bitcoins – and pay in gold?
Trump recently called for a physical audit of the gold reserves in Fort Knox. This is no coincidence—this very gold could become the foundation for the largest government purchase of Bitcoin in history.
New Bill: ARMA 2026
A new bill, the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA) 2026, has been introduced in the US Congress. Its authors are Congressmen Nick Begich and Jared Golden. The bill proposes creating a permanent strategic Bitcoin reserve by purchasing almost 5% of the total existing BTC supply. This is not the first such initiative; Senator Cynthia Lummis previously introduced a similar bill, but it was not passed.
Executive Order vs. Law
A strategic Bitcoin reserve already exists in the US—it was created by the Trump administration via executive order. The problem is that executive orders can easily be revoked by the next president. If the reserve is enshrined in law, its revocation would require a vote by the entire Congress, making such a decision significantly more resistant to political changes.
1 Million Bitcoins in Five Years
The bill authorizes the US Treasury Department to purchase up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years, ultimately reaching 1 million Bitcoins. Given that Bitcoin's maximum supply is 21 million coins, the US would own approximately 4.7% of the total supply—exactly what the US currently holds of the world's total gold supply. All federal Bitcoins, including those already on the government's balance sheet, would be subject to a 20-year sales ban. They could only be used to repay national debt, but not to finance current expenditures.
The Real Cost
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $77,000. If the US could buy one million coins at this price, the total cost would be $77 billion. However, a purchase of this magnitude would itself push the price up—and if the average purchase cost reaches $200,000 per BTC, the total expenditure would be around $200 billion. Theoretically, if the entire gold reserve were utilized, the US could afford to buy Bitcoin even at $1 million per coin.
Fort Knox Gold: Book Value vs. Reality
According to official data, the US holds 261.5 million troy ounces of gold. However, legally, this gold is still valued at $42.22 per ounce—a level set in 1973. Thus, the official book value of the entire US gold reserve is only $11 billion. By market valuation, at the current price of about $4,400–$4,500 per ounce, the reserve is worth over $1 trillion. Furthermore, Fort Knox has not undergone an independent full physical audit for over 70 years—which is why Trump's calls for an audit take on a completely different meaning in light of this bill.
Gold Revaluation Mechanism
The funding scheme, which the bill's authors call "taxpayer-neutral," is built on a tool called gold revaluation. The Treasury Department issues new gold certificates with the current market value and transfers them to the Federal Reserve in exchange for old ones. The Fed receives an asset that has suddenly increased in value by a trillion dollars and is obligated to reflect this on its balance sheet. To balance it, it prints the corresponding amount and credits it to the Treasury Department's account. These funds are legally earmarked exclusively for Bitcoin purchases. Formally—no new taxes, no new borrowing, and the gold doesn't disappear.
Who Really Pays
Despite the declared "neutrality," hundreds of billions of newly printed dollars flow into the economy—and this inevitably creates inflationary pressure. Money does not "enter Bitcoin" in a vacuum: it moves from one bank account to another. BTC sellers receive dollars and spend them on stocks, real estate, consumption, and every such dollar continues to circulate in the economy. Thus, everyone pays—just not through taxes, but through a higher cost of living. The winners in this scheme are asset holders, primarily Bitcoin. The losers are wage earners and those who keep their savings in cash.
Wall Street Is Already Preparing
Regardless of whether ARMA is passed, major financial players—JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and others—are already massively hiring specialists from the crypto world. Analysts link this to the expectation of the Clarity Act's passage—legislation regulating the crypto market in the US. It seems that regardless of the pace, Washington and Wall Street are moving in the same direction, and Bitcoin is at the center of a new global financial architecture.
Whether ARMA will become law is yet unknown. But the very fact of its appearance, combined with calls for an audit of Fort Knox and Wall Street's activity, indicates that the era when governments ignored Bitcoin is coming to an end.