House Advances Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Tax Bills as Fed Raises Rates

WASHINGTON — The House Financial Services Committee approved the American Reserve Modernization Act in a 28 to 21 party-line vote. The bill directs the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve//nile1.com/house-advances-bitcoin-reserve-bill-after-stripping-federal-funding-plans/” class=”auto-internal-link” title=”House Advances Bitcoin Reserve Bill After Stripping Federal Funding Plans”>Bitcoin Reserve within 180 days, with all Bitcoin deposited into the reserve held in custody for at least 20 years. It does not authorize the Treasury to make direct market purchases and instead relies on assets obtained through federal law enforcement forfeitures.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted 38 to 5 to approve the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, less than 24 hours after the broader Senate Clarity Act failed to advance. The bill sets formal tax treatment for stablecoins, digital asset lending, mining, and staking rewards. It also exempts network transaction fees of $10 or less from tax reporting requirements and extends traditional security wash-sale rules to digital asset transactions under U.S. tax code frameworks.

Two U.S. House committees advanced major digital asset legislation in consecutive votes as federal financial regulators signaled plans to pursue independent administrative rules. The moves followed the collapse of broader regulatory legislation in the Senate and coincided with cryptocurrency markets maintaining stability after the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate increase in more than three years.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins told investors to “stay tuned” regarding upcoming agency actions. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Selig said the CFTC was prepared to publish administrative rules, adding that the agency is “locked in and ready to ship.”

The Federal Open Market Committee unanimously raised the benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points, setting a target range of 3.75% to 4.00%. In a post-meeting press conference, Fed official Kevin Warsh described the U.S. economy as resilient and the labor market as strong, while emphasizing that inflation remained elevated above the central bank’s target. Market pricing for two additional 25-basis-point rate increases by the end of 2026 rose from 10% to 40% after the announcement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 600 points during regular trading hours, and the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed to 5.02%. Crude oil declined 3% to $100 per barrel, while spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,370 per ounce. Stock index futures later pointed to a morning recovery, with Dow futures up 0.8% and Nasdaq futures advancing 1.1%.

Bitcoin traded near $76,400 after moving between a 24-hour low of $75,161 and a high of $76,683. Total daily trading volume reached $1.1 billion. Ethereum rose 1% to $2,440, Solana gained 3% to $100, and Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, increased 3% to $79.70.

Circle’s newly launched Arc blockchain recorded more than $400 million in total transaction volume during its first 24 hours of operation. Bitcoin Core developers also released version 32 into final testing ahead of a scheduled October deployment, featuring optimized block validation processing, revised fee architecture, and node security enhancements.

Alternative digital assets posted gains across several networks. Zcash (ZEC) rose 12% to a high of $1,360, NEAR Protocol (NEAR) advanced 18%, LlamaSwap (LIT) increased 14%, and VVV registered a 12% gain.

On the Robinhood chain ecosystem, Pons held a market capitalization of $440 million after rising 10%, AI reached $282 million after gaining 3%, and Cashcat climbed 29% to $200 million. Other gainers included Musebook (+220%), Robin (+150%), Wallet (+44%), and ZZZ (+50%).

Solana’s top movers included Paid (+200%), Eloncoin (+180%), and Ember (+50%). Gains in the Stonk ecosystem included Stonk (+25% to a $180 million valuation), ZCAT (+36% to $140 million), Knots (+70%), jubjub (+400%), and wifout (+500x to $4 million). Among major meme capitalization tokens, Dogecoin held flat, Shiba Inu rose 3%, Pepe gained 4%, Pudgy Penguins’ PENGU increased 5%, Official Trump advanced 4%, and SPX declined 1%.

NFT floor prices also moved higher across primary collections. CryptoPunks remained at 29.3 ETH, Bored Ape Yacht Club rose 1% to 6.85 ETH, and Pudgy Penguins gained 2% to 3.43 ETH. Secondary tokens Rekt Tradooor and Stonkbrokers advanced 80% and 16%, respectively.

Web3 and digital asset companies secured $5.68 billion across 384 funding deals in the second quarter, a 31% quarter-over-quarter increase. Late-stage ventures received 78% of total deployed capital. Only five new venture funds closed during the quarter, the lowest fund creation total since 2019.

The Henley & Partners Crypto Wealth Report 2026 states that approximately 742 million people worldwide own digital assets. Of those, 135,694 individuals hold at least $1 million in crypto assets, 290 hold $100 million or more, and 23 have billionaire status.

In cybersecurity, attackers linked to a breach at financial technology provider Revolut demanded 6,000 Monero (XMR), valued at approximately $3 million, and set a 24-hour deadline. The perpetrators threatened to release sensitive personal data collected from at least 680 user accounts identified through public blockchain analysis if payment was not made.