Congressional negotiators have folded a statutory ban on a Federal Reserve central bank digital currency into a bipartisan housing package, blocking any Fed-issued retail digital dollar until December 31, 2030. The text is the most durable legislative CBDC prohibition yet assembled in Washington.
Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, House Financial Services Chair French Hill, and Ranking Member Maxine Waters released updated bill text Tuesday for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, codified as H.R. 6644. The package combines Senate, House, and White House priorities and now returns to the Senate floor for final action. Warren called the package "the biggest housing bill in more than 30 years."
The CBDC section amends the Federal Reserve Act. It states that the Fed "may not issue or create" a central bank digital currency, or any substantially similar asset, either directly or through a bank or other intermediary. The prohibition runs through December 31, 2030, unless Congress acts again.
The bill defines a CBDC as a dollar-denominated digital asset that is U.S. currency, a direct liability of the Federal Reserve System, and widely available to the public. The definition keeps the restriction tight on a Fed-issued retail product while leaving wholesale settlement experiments and private-sector digital dollars outside its reach.
