U.S. Senate votes to ban CBDCs in housing bill that may face trouble in the House
TL;DR
The U.S. Senate passed a housing bill with a provision banning the Federal Reserve from issuing CBDCs until 2030, but its fate is uncertain due to potential House opposition and President Trump's legislative demands.
Key Takeaways
- •The Senate approved a housing bill that includes a ban on the Federal Reserve issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) until at least the end of 2030.
- •The bill's progress is unclear as the House of Representatives may oppose it, and President Trump has stated he won't sign any legislation until a voter-ID law is passed.
- •The CBDC ban, supported by a bipartisan 89-10 vote, aims to protect financial privacy and promote private-sector-led digital innovation in the U.S.
- •The housing bill also includes controversial measures limiting large investors' home ownership, which could face resistance in the House.
- •The broader legislative uncertainty affects other efforts, such as crypto market structure bills, amid ongoing regulatory developments like the CFTC's moves on prediction markets.
What to know:
- The major housing bill just passed by the U.S. Senate carried a section tacked to the end that would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currencies until the end of 2030.
- It's unclear what the House of Representatives will now do with the approved Senate bill, or whether President Donald Trump would live up to his claim he won't sign any legislation until he has a voter-ID law.
- The major housing bill just passed by the U.S. Senate carried a section tacked to the end that would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currencies until the end of 2030.
- It's unclear what the House of Representatives will now do with the approved Senate bill, or whether President Donald Trump would live up to his claim he won't sign any legislation until he has a voter-ID law.
An initiative to ban the U.S. Federal Reserve from issuing a government-run digital dollar has been approved in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 89-10 vote in the Senate, but it's tucked inside a housing bill that may run into headwinds in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The effort to outlaw a central bank digital currency (CBDC) has long been a favorite of Republican lawmakers, though the U.S. government has never advanced beyond the research stage for establishing a government token that could compete with privately issued stablecoins (and rival other CBDCs pursued by China and other jurisdictions). The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act included an unrelated section that outlawed U.S. CBDCs until at least the end of 2030.
The section, in the final pages of the 302-page bill advanced by the Senate, declares that the Fed "may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar to a central bank digital currency directly or indirectly through a financial institution or other intermediary."
"Financial privacy is a cornerstone of American freedom, and any decision to authorize a Central Bank Digital Currency must remain with Congress and the American people," said Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone in a statement. "We appreciate the Senate reinforcing that digital innovation in the United States should be led by the private sector while protecting individual liberty."
But lawmakers in the House have signaled they may force a second effort at the Senate's version, which could disrupt the bill's progress. At particular issue is the Senate bill's forcing of large investors in U.S. housing, such as private equity firms, to sharply limit the number of homes they can own.
President Donald Trump has favored that concept himself — one of the few areas of overlap with Democratic lawmakers.
Though Trump has supported the effort to make housing more widely available in the U.S., he recently stated that he won't sign any bills into law until Congress sends him legislation that would demand voters produce identification and proof of citizenship before they cast ballots in this year's consequential congressional midterm election. The path for that initiative is unclear, adding to the uncertainty for those advocating the housing bill and other efforts, including the crypto market structure bill known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.
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