Mined in America Act Proposes Certification and Hardware Rules for Bitcoin Mining

THE SHORT VERSION

S.4251, the Mined in America Act of 2026, is proposed legislation. The bill would create a voluntary certification program for some Bitcoin mining facilities and pools, set a schedule for reducing covered foreign-adversary hardware in active mining equipment, and propose a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and related tax treatment. None of those proposals is current law.

The bill was introduced in the Senate on March 26, 2026. Congress.gov lists its latest action as read twice and referred to the Senate Finance Committee, with a status of Introduced. The text can change, and the proposal could fail to advance. Readers should separate what the bill says from what may happen later. [1]

THE PROPOSED CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

The bill directs the Commerce Department to create a voluntary Mined in America Certification Program for mining facilities and mining pools. Proposed criteria include operating in the United States or a friendly nation, disclosing ownership and control, maintaining cybersecurity measures, and meeting hardware-sourcing requirements. The Secretary of Commerce could set additional criteria under the bill.

Certification would not be a regulatory license or a waiver from another rule. The bill says certification could affect eligibility, priority, or participation in certain federal loan, grant, reimbursement, or procurement programs. That is a proposed connection to federal programs, not a promise that a certified operator would receive money or a contract. [1]

THE PROPOSED HARDWARE SCHEDULE

S.4251 would phase down active proof-of-work mining equipment manufactured by a foreign-adversary-related entity. The schedule in the bill is:

• January 1, 2027: a miner could not purchase new covered proof-of-work equipment.
• January 1, 2028: no more than 75 percent of active hardware could be covered equipment.
• January 1, 2029: no more than 50 percent could be covered equipment.
• January 1, 2030: covered equipment would have to be at 0 percent of active hardware.

The proposed rules concern equipment manufactured by an entity connected to a foreign adversary under the bill's definitions. They do not automatically describe every machine made outside the United States. The bill also treats replaced, repurposed, or retired equipment as removed from active deployment in the situations it defines. [1]

The text allows possible early certification before 2027 if an operator has not purchased covered equipment since enactment and submits a compliance plan. From 2027 through 2029, a preferred certification may be available to a facility or pool with no more than 25 percent covered active hardware. These are proposed eligibility paths, not operating instructions under current law.

RESERVE AND TAX PROVISIONS

Section 6 proposes a new Internal Revenue Code section, 139M. It would exclude gain from a certified Bitcoin miner's sale or exchange of qualified Bitcoin to the United States for deposit into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, subject to the bill's definitions and conditions. The provision is part of the proposal. It does not create a current tax exclusion unless Congress enacts it.

The bill also proposes federal program changes touching energy, grid-interactive projects, rural infrastructure, and compute infrastructure. Other sections call for studies involving grid and load management and decentralized artificial intelligence infrastructure. The text sets out proposed policy mechanisms, but it does not guarantee lower energy costs, new demand, higher prices, stronger network security, or a particular effect on any mining business.

WHAT THE LEGISLATIVE STATUS MEANS

Introduced legislation has not completed the process required to become law. A committee may review it, amend it, replace it, or take no further action. Even if a version passed, agencies would still have to interpret and implement any enacted requirements. The text reviewed here is therefore a policy proposal, not a compliance deadline for miners today.

That status also matters for the hardware schedule. The dates in the bill are proposed dates. They should not be described as rules already binding on mining operators, equipment manufacturers, lenders, or federal agencies.

WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN

The bill text does not settle which entities would meet every proposed foreign-adversary-related definition, how Commerce would administer certification, or how federal programs would rank certified applicants. It also does not establish the final form of the reserve, tax rules, studies, or hardware requirements. Those details could change through amendments or later implementation if the proposal advances.

This article makes no forecast about passage, mining economics, energy use, Bitcoin price, or network security. A proposed law cannot establish those outcomes in advance.

WHAT READERS SHOULD WATCH NEXT

Watch the Congress.gov record for committee actions, amendments, substitute text, and any change from Introduced status. Compare any new version with the certification criteria, hardware schedule, reserve language, and proposed tax section. Mining operators should rely on enacted law and official agency guidance, not this introduced bill, for compliance decisions.

SOURCES AND DISCLOSURES

[1] Congress.gov, S.4251, 119th Congress, “Mined in America Act of 2026,” bill text and legislative status:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4251/text

Disclosure: This is a sourced explainer of proposed legislation, not legal, tax, energy, or investment advice and not a recommendation to mine, buy, sell, or hold Bitcoin. S.4251 is introduced legislation, not enacted law. All certification, hardware, reserve, tax, energy, grid, and network effects described here are proposed or possible, not current or guaranteed. No paid placement, sponsorship, or affiliate relationship with the bill's sponsors, Congress.gov, or any mining business was used. The featured illustration was generated for CryptoWorkPro and is not a documentary image of a mine, federal program, or reserve.