- The U.S. Senate passed a four-year prohibition on a Federal Reserve central bank digital currency by an 85-5 vote, embedding the measure within a major housing bill.
- The ban specifically bars the Fed from directly or indirectly issuing a CBDC but includes an exemption for “open, permissionless, and private” stablecoins.
- Senior policymakers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, have voiced strong public opposition to a U.S. CBDC.
- The legislative move revives key elements from Rep. Tom Emmer‘s previously stalled Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
- The policy reinforces a U.S. stance favoring private-sector digital dollar innovation, coming as the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework is implemented.
The U.S. Senate decisively moved to block a Federal Reserve central bank digital currency this week, embedding a four-year ban within a sweeping housing bill headed for the President’s desk. This legislative action builds on significant bipartisan momentum and high-level opposition from officials like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
Passed by an 85-5 vote, the provision prohibits the Fed from “issu[ing] or creat[ing], directly or indirectly, a CBDC,” according to the official bill language. However, it carves out an exemption for private, open-network stablecoins, preserving a market for issuers like Circle Internet Group and Tether.
Consequently, the measure resurrects core tenets of Rep. Tom Emmer‘s Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which had previously stalled. This strategic move arrived tucked inside what Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott called the most significant bipartisan housing reform push in decades.
Meanwhile, opposition from top economic leaders has crystallized publicly. Secretary Bessent has said a U.S. CBDC is “off the table.” Fed Chair Warsh has long called the concept “a bad policy choice” and argued the central bank lacks the right to issue one.
This policy shift solidifies a U.S. framework favoring private digital dollar innovation over a state-issued alternative. It also coincides with the implementation of the recently signed GENIUS Act, which establishes a broader regulatory framework for stablecoins.
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