The United States Senate passed the 21st Century Housing Roads Act by 85 to 5. This bipartisan bill, which originally focused on the supply of housing and restricted the acquisition of a single home by large investors, was accompanied by an article on encryption that prohibited the Federal Reserve from issuing the Central Bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2030. The next step in the bill will be referred to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Prohibition to end 2030

The provisions of the Act provide that the Fed may not issue CBDC directly or indirectly introduce “materially similar” digital assets through financial institutions or other intermediaries. Even if the ban were to expire after 2030, the Fed would still need a clear parliamentary mandate to move forward on the digital dollar.

This means that the Senate did not simply suspend the plan at this time, but further raised the threshold for moving forward to the legislative level.

Private stabilizers excluded.

The bill also provides for an exemption for private stabilization currency. The provision excludes from the prohibition private digital currencies “in United States dollars, open, unlicensed and of a private nature”, so that the issuers of stable currencies such as Circle and Tether are not affected by the provision.

It is mentioned that these issuers are now under the regulatory framework of the GENIUS Act adopted last year. In other words, it is the Federal Reserve-led digital dollar, not the private stabilization currency system, that the Senate limits this time.

The Housing Act contains provisions of the CBDC

There are currently no CBDC projects under way at the United States federal level. The Fed has not been out of the research phase, and both the current Fed Chairman Kevin Walsh and President Trump have publicly opposed the digital dollar. Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 requiring his Government not to promote CBDC.

In their voting statements, the Senator continued to focus on the inadequate housing supply and the owner of the enterprise, and the digital dollar ban was the focus of closed discussions. According to the report, this provision has been used mainly to enlist Republican support in the House of Representatives and to expedite the bill.

The U.S. is different from overseas.

According to some conservative members of the House of Representatives, the existing freeze period should be changed to a permanent ban. However, the leadership of the House of Representatives is expected to take up the bill as soon as possible before it is sent to Trump for signature.

Unlike the United States, the ECB is moving forward with a digital euro, and the pilot is expected to start next year, with a formal launch target of 2029. China is also expanding the use of the digital renminbi across borders. According to the Atlantic Council, three countries have officially launched CBDC, and dozens more are in the pilot or development phase.