House passes housing bill with CBDC ban through 2030
In brief
- House passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act 358-32 on Tuesday
- Bill bans Federal Reserve CBDC issuance until December 31, 2030
- Senate approved 85-5; Trump expected to sign Wednesday
- CBDC ban language sourced from Tom Emmer's Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act
- Private, permissionless dollar stablecoins remain permitted under carve-out
The ban and its scope
The bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a central bank digital currency or substantially similar digital asset. The CBDC restriction expires at year-end 2030, meaning Congress would need to renew the ban if it wants to extend the prohibition beyond that date.
The language carries a significant carve-out. The bill allows crypto stablecoins that are dollar-denominated, open, permissionless and private. This distinction reflects the political divide: lawmakers opposed centralized digital currencies while preserving space for decentralized alternatives.
How this ban came together
The CBDC ban language was revived from Republican Representative Tom Emmer's Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. Emmer's original bill was introduced in June 2025 and passed the House a month later, but it never advanced in the Senate. By embedding the CBDC language into a housing bill with overwhelming bipartisan support, Republicans found a path forward for a measure that had stalled.
Republicans have long pushed for a CBDC ban. The party's opposition reflects broader concerns about centralized monetary control. Crypto advocates view CBDCs as an attempt to repurpose technology made for decentralized assets into a centrally controlled asset, a framing that resonates across ideological lines.
What happens next
Trump's expected signature this week will finalize the ban. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott called it a victory, saying "Today, Congress delivered a major win for families working toward the American Dream." The housing bill's primary aim is tackling affordability, but the CBDC provision represents a separate policy win for anti-surveillance advocates and crypto supporters who oppose central bank digital currencies.
