Senate Bans Fed CBDC for Four Years in 85-5 Housing Bill Vote

85 senators just voted to block a digital dollar the Fed never asked for. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed Monday night in an 85-5 vote, carries a provision that bans the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a central bank digital currency for four years, through the end of 2030.

How a Housing Bill Became a CBDC Curb

Republican politicians inserted the CBDC prohibition into an unrelated housing affordability bill, capitalizing on their opposition to what they call a government surveillance overreach. The Fed hadn't been actively working on a digital dollar, but the ban makes it official: "the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or a Federal reserve bank 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."

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 directing his administration to avoid any CBDC moves, calling it a threat to "financial stability, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States." New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh testified during his nomination hearing that a US CBDC is a "bad policy choice." Former Chair Jerome Powell had previously said any Fed CBDC would be managed through banks, but that nuance didn't matter to the bill's backers.

What This Ban Actually Does (and Doesn't)

The ban is temporary: four years, ending December 31, 2030. It doesn't stop private stablecoins or other digital dollar experiments from banks or fintechs. It only blocks the Federal Reserve from being the issuer. The European Central Bank is already piloting a digital euro next year with a planned 2029 launch, and China's digital yuan is live. The US will sit out that game until at least 2031, unless Congress acts again.

With the House expected to approve the bill as soon as Tuesday and Trump's signature all but certain, the US will have legally barred a CBDC path for the next four years, leaving the digital dollar battlefield to Europe and China.

Source: U.S. Senate passes housing bill that carries four-year ban on a Fed CBDC
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