Congress Approves CBDC Ban Through 2030 in Sweeping Housing Package
Congress has approved legislation that would block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) through Dec. 31, 2030, sending the measure to President Trump for signature after the House cleared it Tuesday.
The House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with a large bipartisan vote Tuesday, following the Senate's 85–15 approval on Monday. The bill's CBDC provision prohibits the Federal Reserve and all Federal Reserve banks from issuing, creating, or facilitating a central bank digital currency through the end of 2030. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said the vote delivered "a major win for families working toward the American Dream."
The CBDC language rode inside a broader housing affordability package aimed at curbing corporate landlord concentration in single-family housing, speeding up development permitting, and modernizing HUD programs. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill co-led the effort with Ranking Member Maxine Waters, alongside Scott and Senate Banking Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren.
The House approved an amended version 396–13 in May, and the Senate later folded those changes into a final reconciled text. A cross-chamber agreement was reached last week after months of delays. Hill said the process showed "Washington still works."
The CBDC ban was added to secure House Republican support. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a longtime sponsor of anti-CBDC proposals, has argued a Fed-issued digital currency would erode Americans' financial privacy and give the government excessive control over transactions. The Senate's 85–15 margin signaled meaningful Democratic support, putting both chambers on record for what supporters describe as the first statutory prohibition on a Fed-issued retail digital dollar in U.S. history.
The measure also reinforces Washington's current direction on digital dollars: regulated private stablecoins, not a Fed retail CBDC. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump's 2025 signing of the GENIUS Act was "a seminal moment for digital assets and dollar supremacy." Taken together, the GENIUS Act's stablecoin framework and the CBDC ban set the administration's posture, leaving the Fed out of the retail digital-dollar arena through 2030.
Circle's USDC and Tether's USDT account for about 84% of a stablecoin market with more than $308 billion in capitalization, according to CoinGecko. For banks, payment networks, and fintechs building stablecoin settlement rails, the law would remove the prospect of a Fed-issued retail digital-dollar competitor through year-end 2030, offering longer-term planning clarity for institutional payments operations.
Separately, the Clarity Act is moving on a parallel track and is expected to head toward a Senate floor vote ahead of the August recess, addressing broader digital-asset market structure.
The CBDC prohibition is not permanent. It sunsets at the end of 2030, a compromise after some House Freedom Caucus members sought a lasting ban. Lawmakers could revisit the issue after 2030, though the Senate's 85–15 vote suggests reversing course would require major political shifts.
The restriction applies only to the Federal Reserve and Federal Reserve banks. It does not limit commercial banks or private companies from developing their own digital-dollar products. Trump is widely expected to sign the legislation; Speaker Mike Johnson and the White House supported the housing package throughout negotiations.
