US House and Senate leaders have reached an agreement on a housing bill that includes a prohibition on the Federal Reserve issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) until the end of 2030. The bipartisan deal, an updated version of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, was released Tuesday and also aims to tackle housing affordability by preventing institutional investors from purchasing existing single-family homes for rental purposes.
The CBDC ban has been part of the bill since the Senate passed its version in March. While the House passed its own version in May, disagreements between the chambers led to further amendments by the Senate, which will now be presented to the House for a final vote. The legislation is expected to pass swiftly, marking a legislative victory for Republicans who have long sought to ban CBDCs through standalone bills that previously stalled.
Crypto advocates have expressed concerns about CBDCs, viewing them as a government attempt to co-opt cryptocurrency technology for a centrally controlled digital asset. The bill's language mirrors that of Representative Tom Emmer's Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which passed the House in July 2025 but did not advance in the Senate. The current bill includes a carveout for crypto stablecoins that are described as dollar-denominated, open, permissionless, and private.
This agreement allows Congress to focus on other legislative priorities before the August recess and the November midterm elections, including the crypto-regulating CLARITY Act. House Republican leaders intend to bring the housing bill to a vote shortly after the chamber reconvenes on June 23. Previously, in January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prohibited federal agencies from engaging in any work related to CBDCs, citing threats to financial stability, individual privacy, and national sovereignty.