A housing affordability bill passed by the United States Senate included provisions restricting the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currency (CBDC). If the House of Representatives subsequently passes and is signed by President Trump, this restriction will be formally enshrined in the law and will continue until the end of 2030.
Bans on entry into the Housing Act
This bill passes 85 to 5 in the Senate one night a week. Republican parliamentarians have long opposed the United States move towards a digital dollar, arguing that such instruments could expand government control over financial activities, and have called for the ban to be included in the current housing bill.
The text of the bill provides that the Federal Reserve Council or the Regional Reserves shall not issue CBDC directly or indirectly introduce digital assets similar to those of CBDC through banks or other intermediaries.
The Fed didn't advance the project.
In real terms, the official United States had not really launched the digital dollar programme. The promotion of CBDC usually requires the support of the White House, Congress and the Federal Reserve, but there has been no real push at these levels.
However, once the Chamber of Deputies has followed up on the vote and sent the bill to Trump for signature, the opposition, which had remained at the political level, becomes a restriction with legal effect.
The White House and the Fed converge.
Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 prohibiting his Government from promoting CBDC. He said that such arrangements could threaten the stability of the financial system, personal privacy and United States sovereignty.
For its part, the Fed, former Chairman Powell, has stated that even if CBCC were to be considered in the future, it would leave its operation and management to the banking system, rather than be operated directly by the central bank to the public. Kevin Warsh, the current President, at the nomination hearing, categorically objected to the United States CBDC as “bad policy choice”.
In contrast to the United States, the European Central Bank is still moving forward with the digital euro, and plans to launch the pilot next year and move towards full roll-out in 2029. China had previously advanced the Digital renminbi project led by the People's Bank of China.
If the House of Representatives were to pass the bill as soon as possible this week, the housing bill would be sent to Trump along with the provisions of the CBDC, at which time the United States opposition to the digital dollar would rise further from an executive order to congressional legislation.