Who is affected and how:

• Federal Reserve System (Board of Governors and Federal Reserve Banks): Directly constrained. The amendment makes retail Fed-issued CBDC, Fed accounts for individuals, and Fed balance-sheet holdings of U.S. digital currency unlawful in the specific ways listed. This narrows the Fed’s statutory authorities and operational options for any retail CBDC design.

• Banks and depository institutions: Indirectly affected. By forbidding Fed direct-to-consumer accounts, the amendment preserves a role for banks and other intermediaries in retail payment distribution if policymakers pursue digital-currency solutions that rely on intermediaries. It may also affect competitive dynamics between the Fed and private deposit-taking institutions.

• Cryptocurrency firms, digital-wallet and payment-platform providers: Direct issuance to "digital currency intermediaries" is prohibited, so any plan relying on Fed issuance to intermediaries would be blocked. Firms may still participate in private or commercial digital-asset initiatives, but Fed-backed intermediated issuance pathways would be limited by this statute.

• Consumers and the general public: Individuals are barred from receiving CBDC directly from the Federal Reserve or from holding Fed accounts; access to any CBDC would depend on alternative arrangements established by other laws, private institutions, or policy choices.

• Federal agencies and policymakers: The change constrains one set of structural options for a U.S. CBDC (retail Fed accounts) and therefore influences legislative and regulatory choices about alternative models (e.g., account-based retail via intermediaries, token-based wholesale systems, or no CBDC).

• International and market implications: The prohibition narrows the Fed's set of operational designs relative to other central banks exploring retail CBDC, which could affect cross-border design considerations and interoperability discussions but does not itself regulate foreign CBDCs.

Net effect summary: The amendment is narrowly focused on forbidding Federal Reserve-issued retail CBDC and related Fed balance-sheet uses; it does not itself create new payment systems, fund programs, or directly regulate private-sector CBDC-like products beyond the issuance/holding restrictions on Fed actors. The practical outcome is to lock in a legal prohibition on direct Fed-to-individual CBDC relationships, shaping future policy options and private-sector planning.