TheBlock
The U.S. Senate and House have reached a bipartisan, bicameral deal on the "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act," a comprehensive housing affordability package that also bars the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency or any "substantially similar" digital asset until Dec. 31, 2030. Senator Tim Scott, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Rep. French Hill, and Rep. Maxine Waters released the updated text on Tuesday, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying the bill will get its first procedural vote in the Senate this week. The House is expected to take it up immediately after lawmakers return from recess around June 23, potentially clearing a path to the president's desk.
Why it matters
The CBDC ban is the structural headline, even if it is riding a housing bill. Hitching the prohibition to must-pass housing legislation is a deliberate strategy from House Republicans to force the policy across the finish line with bipartisan cover from the Senate side, including Elizabeth Warren's involvement. The three-year window is meaningful: it spans the rest of this administration and a chunk of the next, removing a Federal Reserve tool for the policy window when most major economies are actively piloting retail digital currency rails.
The Trump administration's posture reinforces the legislative path. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated last month that CBDCs are "off the table" and that the priority is moving the digital-asset-focused Clarity Act instead, framing U.S. policy around private-sector stablecoins and tokenization rather than a Fed-issued instrument.
Market impact
The prohibition narrows the institutional ceiling for any state-issued digital dollar in the U.S., which keeps private stablecoin issuers and tokenized-deposit rails as the default path for on-chain dollar settlement. It also removes a tail risk that institutional desks have priced into longer-dated CBDC-adjacent infrastructure plays, and it pairs that signal with a parallel legislative push to formalize private digital-asset market structure through the Clarity Act.
Frequently asked questions
-
What does the housing bill do to CBDCs?
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act bars the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a CBDC or any digital asset "substantially similar" to a CBDC, effective until Dec. 31, 2030. The language is in the updated text released Tuesday by Senators Scott and Warren and Reps. Hill and Waters.
-
Why is a CBDC ban attached to a housing bill?
Attaching the anti-CBDC provision to must-pass housing legislation is a deliberate legislative strategy. House Republicans pushed for the inclusion, and bundling it gives the policy bipartisan cover from the Senate side — including Sen. Elizabeth Warren — to move through both chambers.
-
What's the next step for the bill?
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the bill will get its first procedural vote in the Senate this week, per Politico. The House is then expected to take it up immediately after lawmakers return from recess around June 23, potentially clearing a path to the president's final sign-off.
-
How does this fit the Trump administration's crypto policy?
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated last month that CBDCs are "off the table" and that the administration's priority is moving the digital-asset-focused Clarity Act across the finish line. The housing-bill CBDC ban aligns with that posture, locking the Fed out of retail CBDC issuance through 2030.
-
What does this mean for stablecoins and tokenized dollars?
The ban keeps private stablecoin issuers and tokenized-deposit rails as the default U.S. path for on-chain dollar settlement, while a parallel push to formalize digital-asset market structure continues via the Clarity Act. It also narrows the institutional ceiling for any state-issued digital dollar through end-2030.
CoinTelegraph
Crypto News
Altcoin Daily
CryptoSlate
CoinDesk