U.S. Senate Housing Bill "Includes" CBDC Ban: Federal Reserve Cannot Issue Central Bank Digital Currency Before 2031

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs proposed a bipartisan housing bill on Monday. Originally focused on expanding housing supply and easing regulations, it unexpectedly included a provision to “temporarily prohibit the Federal Reserve (Fed) from issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC).”

The bill, titled the “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act,” was jointly introduced by Committee Chair Republican Senator Tim Scott and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. Its goal is to streamline the U.S. housing construction process, reduce development costs, and strengthen homeownership opportunities for the middle class.

In a statement, Tim Scott noted that the bill aims not only to “reduce burdensome regulations, lower costs, and expand housing supply,” but also to avoid increasing government spending and to open pathways for more families to access economic opportunities and homeownership.

Elizabeth Warren emphasized in another statement that the bill incorporates the contents of the previously unanimously passed Senate “Road to Housing Act,” as well as bipartisan proposals from the House. It also begins to address issues related to corporate landlords acquiring large numbers of homes and squeezing out opportunities for ordinary families to buy homes.

Notably, neither of them specifically mentioned the “CBDC ban” clause in their public statements.

In fact, within the 303-page bill, the “CBDC ban” clause occupies only a few pages. Previously, lawmakers had attempted to attach similar bans to other bills; the House even passed a standalone CBDC ban bill last year. However, due to political struggles between the two chambers, it has yet to become law.

Regarding the specific content of the clause, the bill explicitly states: “Except as provided in subsection ©, the Federal Reserve or any Federal Reserve Bank shall not directly or indirectly, through financial institutions or other intermediaries, issue or create a central bank digital currency, nor introduce any digital assets substantially similar to a CBDC.”

This ban includes a “sunset clause,” which will expire on December 31, 2030. In other words, whether the Federal Reserve directly issues digital dollars to the public or promotes them indirectly through commercial banks, such activities will be explicitly prohibited during the bill’s effective period.

At the same time, the bill provides exceptions for certain digital assets: digital currencies denominated in U.S. dollars that are “permissionless, issued by private entities,” and that can “fully preserve” the privacy features of physical cash, will not be subject to the ban.