Senate advances housing bill as bipartisan deal adds Fed CBDC ban through 2030

A bipartisan congressional compromise has renewed attention on the U.S. digital dollar debate by including language in the 21st Century Housing and Roads Act that would block the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a central bank digital currency until Dec. 31, 2030. The provision is part of a broader housing finance and infrastructure package and remains subject to the bill process, meaning it should be viewed as a proposed ban inside a deal moving toward votes rather than an enacted prohibition. The measure matters for crypto and payments policy because a multi-year statutory pause on a U.S. CBDC would leave more room for stablecoins, private payment networks and bank-led settlement experiments to develop without competition from a Federal Reserve retail digital dollar. It also signals that Congress wants to assert greater control over whether and how any digital dollar could proceed. The proposal comes as CBDCs remain a flashpoint in U.S. policy, with supporters arguing they could modernize payments and critics warning about financial surveillance, bank disintermediation and government control over transactions. Because the CBDC language is attached to a larger legislative package, its fate will depend on whether the underlying compromise advances and whether the provision survives intact through upcoming bill text and votes. Market participants are also watching for the Federal Reserve’s response, especially given the view that congressional authorization would be required for any CBDC anyway.