Congress advances housing bill banning Fed CBDC until 2030

Congress reached an agreement to advance the 21st Century Road to Housing Act on Tuesday. The updated bill bars the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, or any digital asset substantially similar to a CBDC, through Dec. 31, 2030. It also restricts institutional investors from buying existing single-family homes to convert into rentals.

House and Senate negotiators cleared the bipartisan package after each chamber passed its own version earlier this year. The Senate had approved a CBDC prohibition in March; negotiators added further amendments that will return to the House for a final vote when lawmakers reconvene on June 23. House Republican leaders plan to move the bill quickly once it reaches the floor, according to congressional aides.

The CBDC provision bars the Federal Reserve from directly or indirectly issuing or creating a central bank digital currency or any digital asset substantially similar to a CBDC through Dec. 31, 2030. The measure includes a carveout for certain stablecoins defined in the bill as a “dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private.” The clause sets an expiration date at the end of 2030.

The housing text prevents institutional buyers from purchasing existing single-family homes to convert them into rental properties. Negotiators combined the housing reforms and the CBDC language into a single vehicle to secure bipartisan support and move legislation before summer recess and the November midterm elections.

The CBDC wording revives much of the language from Representative Tom Emmer’s Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, introduced in June 2025 and approved by the House later that year but not taken up in the Senate.

A January 2025 executive order directed federal agencies to halt work on CBDC projects, warning that central bank digital currencies threatened ‘the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States.’

Lawmakers also signaled plans to pursue separate crypto-focused legislation this session, including a bill to clarify regulatory rules for digital assets. If the House approves the revised housing bill, it will be sent to the president for signature.

Regulators and industry stakeholders are expected to respond to the legislation as it moves through the final steps of the congressional process.