Senate housing bill halts Fed digital dollar projects until 2030

The provision explicitly bars the Federal Reserve Board and its regional banks from creating or issuing a CBDC, or any digital asset functioning as one, through December 31, 2030. While the Federal Reserve has primarily limited its efforts to exploratory research rather than active deployment, this legislative move codifies an existing executive branch policy into federal law. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where rapid approval is anticipated before reaching President Donald Trump’s desk.

Beyond the digital currency restriction, the legislation targets the domestic housing market by capping large institutional investors at 350 single-family home acquisitions per firm and facilitating mortgage access for first-time buyers. The CBDC prohibition specifically excludes private, permissionless stablecoins, ensuring that the freeze remains confined to government-issued digital money. This stance contrasts with global efforts, as the European Central Bank and China’s central bank continue to advance their respective digital currency frameworks for cross-border and consumer use. Critics of the Fed’s potential digital dollar, largely within the Republican party, have long argued that such a system poses significant risks to individual privacy and financial sovereignty.