US Senate passes bill banning issuance of CBDCs

The US Senate has voted to ban the Federal Reserve from issuing CBDCs until after 2030 as part of a bipartisan housing bill, according to Finextra. The bill reads that the Federal Reserve „may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar to a central bank digital currency directly or indirectly through a financial institution or other intermediary.”

Blockchain and digital assets organisations have spoken out in support of the ban, amid deliberations on the US CLARITY Act that will clarify digital asset legislation, and the approval of the GENIUS Act on stablecoins last year.

The Crypto Council for Innovation made a statement supporting the bill and the ban, commenting: “Legislative certainty on this subject will help foster the private-sector innovation driving U.S. leadership in digital assets while protecting Americans’ privacy.”

Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, commented: “A government-issued CBDC would threaten core American values — financial privacy, civil liberties and limits on state power — by giving the government unprecedented insight into (and potential leverage over) everyday transactions.”