Sponsors (136)
The bill prioritizes privacy, banking-sector stability, and congressional control by preventing the Federal Reserve from creating a retail CBDC, but that protection comes at the cost of slower payment innovation, reduced options for financial inclusion, constrained policy tools, and increased uncertainty for fintech innovation.
Financial institutions (banks, payment processors) keep their existing retail roles and are protected from new Fed-issued digital liabilities, avoiding operational upheaval and sudden regulatory changes for the banking system.
Consumers (taxpayers, middle-class families, seniors) retain existing payment choices and privacy protections because the Fed is barred from holding individual accounts or unilaterally issuing a retail CBDC, reducing risks of government surveillance or control over everyday transactions.
The public and stakeholders gain democratic oversight and clearer separation of powers because Congress must enact legislation before any national CBDC can be created, providing a defined legislative path and greater transparency.
Unbanked and low-income individuals could be left without a potential public option that might have expanded access to accounts and reduced transaction costs, slowing progress on financial inclusion.
Consumers and businesses (middle-class families, taxpayers) may continue to face higher fees and slower payments because the bill blocks Fed-backed alternatives that could spur competition and lower transaction costs.
The restriction on Fed digital currencies may constrain monetary-policy and resilience tools—limiting options to speed payments, improve system resilience, or transmit policy during crises.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Thomas Earl Emmer · Last progress July 17, 2025
Prohibits the Federal Reserve (both its banks and the Board/FOMC) from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or any substantially similar digital asset, from offering retail financial accounts or services to individuals, and from testing, studying, developing, creating, or using a CBDC to implement monetary policy. It also bars the Fed from delivering a CBDC indirectly through intermediaries and includes a narrow exception for private, permissionless digital currencies that preserve the privacy of cash. States Congress's nonbinding view that the Fed currently lacks authority to issue a CBDC unless Congress grants that authority; this statement is advisory and does not by itself change the law beyond the statutory prohibitions described above.