Senate’s Unexpected Move: CBDC Ban Sneaked into Crucial Bipartisan Housing Bill—What It Means for America’s Financial Future
Who would’ve thought the Federal Reserve would get a “time-out” on issuing their own digital currency? Well, that’s precisely what the U.S. Senate decided when they included an amendment in the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, slapping a ban on the Fed launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) until 2030. It’s a move that’s got wallets and lawmakers buzzing alike—especially considering this ban doesn’t touch dollar-pegged stablecoins, which some big names hail as the next frontier for US dollar dominance. But here’s the kicker: is this moratorium just a savvy political play, or a genuine stand against what some see as an Orwellian financial leash? Buckle up, because this debate slices through economic freedom, digital privacy, and the future of money in a way that’s anything but boring. LEARN MORE.
The United States Senate voted on Thursday to include an amendment in the 21st Century Road to Housing Act that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The CBDC prohibition will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2030, according to the amendment in the bill. The legislation, which passed 89-10, stated:
“The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or a Federal Reserve Bank may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar to a central bank digital currency, directly or indirectly through a financial institution or other intermediary.”
However, the bill does not prohibit any dollar-denominated digital currency that is “open, permissionless, and private,” such as stablecoins.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and President Donald Trump have presented dollar-pegged stablecoins as a way to extend US dollar hegemony, while Trump and other Republican lawmakers have taken a hardline stance against CBDCs.
Related: Republican opposition to CBDC could hold up housing affordability bill
Lawmakers slam CBDCs as authoritarian surveillance technology
More than 30 US lawmakers signed a letter on March 6, urging the Senate to pass a permanent CBDC ban, rather than a temporary moratorium.
“A CBDC would give unelected bureaucrats unprecedented power over Americans’ finances and threaten basic economic freedom,” Representative Ralph Norman, one of the signatories of the letter, said.
Representative Warren Davidson, a long-time critic of CBDCs, has also criticized regulated dollar-pegged stablecoins as having the same surveillance capabilities as CBDCs.
Warren also warned that regulations under the Guiding and Empowering Nation’s Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act create an avenue to “control” and “coerce” the US population through financial surveillance techniques and programmable money.
Hedge fund manager Ray Dalio also recently warned that CBDCs would expand the government’s control over people’s finances.
“There will be no privacy, and it’s a very effective controlling mechanism by the government,” Dalio said in an interview with independent journalist Tucker Carlson.
CBDCs likely won’t be yield-bearing, meaning they do not offer inflation protection and can be automatically taxed or frozen by the government, he added.
Magazine: GENIUS Act reopens the door for a Meta stablecoin, but will it work?
