United States House passes bill banning Fed from creating CBDC until 2030

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.

The bill does include a notable carve-out. Private, permissionless, dollar-denominated digital assets, think stablecoins, are explicitly exempted from the ban. The condition is that they must preserve privacy comparable to physical cash.

The House had already signaled strong support months ago. An amended version of the bill passed with a 396-13 vote in May 2026. The Senate’s March vote on a similar version came in at 89-10.

A pattern, not a one-off

This ban didn’t materialize out of nowhere. It builds on a legislative trail that stretches back years.

In 2024, the House passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, an earlier attempt to block digital dollar development rooted in similar privacy concerns. That effort didn’t survive the full congressional gauntlet, but it laid the groundwork for the provision now embedded in a much larger housing bill.

In January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order opposing CBDC development, citing risks to financial privacy and concerns about government overreach into personal transactions. The congressional ban essentially codifies that executive stance into law.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. French Hill (R-AR) were among the key sponsors pushing the anti-CBDC provision through their respective chambers.

Globally, over 100 countries have explored or are actively developing CBDCs. China’s digital yuan has been in pilot mode for years. The European Central Bank has been working on a digital euro. The US is now formally sitting out the CBDC race until at least 2031.

What this means for investors

For stablecoin issuers, the explicit legislative exemption for private, privacy-preserving dollar-denominated tokens gives companies like Circle and Tether a clearer lane to operate. Congress is essentially telling the market: we’re not building our own version, and we’re fine with yours, as long as you respect user privacy.

The risk to watch is the sunset date. This ban expires December 31, 2030. The legislation creates breathing room for private digital dollar innovation, but the clock is already ticking.

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