Congress just told the Federal Reserve to shelve any plans for a digital dollar. The House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that includes a provision explicitly banning the Fed from issuing a central bank digital currency, or any “substantially similar” digital asset, until December 31, 2030.
The Senate cleared the bill with an overwhelming 85-5 vote on June 22, 2026.
What the bill actually does
The CBDC ban lives in Title XI, Section 1101 of H.R. 6644. It prohibits the Federal Reserve from directly or indirectly issuing a retail central bank digital currency for roughly four more years.
There wasn’t an active federal retail CBDC project to kill. The Fed had explored the concept through research papers and a pilot program at the Boston Fed, but nothing was close to launch.
