Congress Slips a Fed Digital-Dollar Ban Into a Housing Bill
US House and Senate leaders agreed on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on 16 June 2026, attaching a ban on a Federal Reserve digital dollar. The provision blocks the Fed from issuing a central bank digital currency until 31 December 2030.
Congress agreed on a housing bill carrying a CBDC ban
US House and Senate leaders reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on 16 June 2026. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, House Financial Services Chair French Hill, and Ranking Member Maxine Waters released the updated text. The package, codified as H.R. 6644, aims to increase housing supply and limit purchases of single-family homes by large institutional investors.
"the biggest housing bill in more than 30 years", 16 June 2026. — Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member, Senate Banking Committee
The bill bars a Fed digital dollar until 2030
The legislation states that the Federal Reserve "may not issue or create" a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or any digital asset substantially similar to one. The restriction runs through 31 December 2030 unless Congress acts again. A CBDC is a digital form of a country's official money, issued directly by its central bank. The bill defines it narrowly as a dollar-denominated digital asset that is US currency, a direct liability of the Federal Reserve, and widely available to the public. According to reporting from journalist Eleanor Terrett, House Republicans pushed for the provision, which revives language from earlier standalone anti-CBDC bills. The Trump White House has backed the measure, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said a digital dollar is off the table.
Both chambers passed earlier versions by wide margins
The Senate first attached the CBDC ban in March, passing its amended version on 12 March 2026 by a vote of 89 to 10. The House cleared its own version on 20 May 2026 by 396 to 13. The chambers spent the months since reconciling differences over institutional homebuyer limits, disaster-recovery grants, and community banking provisions. Waters said the final text includes more than 50 housing and banking provisions that Democrats fought to secure.
A carveout shields private stablecoins from the ban
The provision exempts open, permissionless, and private dollar-denominated assets, a category that covers stablecoins. Stablecoins are crypto tokens designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to the US dollar. The carveout keeps the restriction focused on a Fed-issued retail product. Some market observers say a delayed government digital dollar removes a potential competitor for private issuers.
Stablecoins carry large market value at publication
Tether (USDT) traded at $0.9991 with a market value near $186.28 billion at the time of publication (NewsFlash, 20 June 2026). USD Coin (USDC) traded at $0.9999 with a market value of about $74.80 billion (NewsFlash, 20 June 2026). Both tokens sit among the largest dollar-pegged assets in the market.
"I look forward to President Trump signing it into law", 16 June 2026. — French Hill, Chair, House Financial Services Committee
The bill returns to the Senate floor next
The updated text heads back to the Senate for its first procedural vote. The House is expected to vote shortly after lawmakers return from recess around 23 June 2026. A House vote would send the bill to the president for final approval.
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