House and Senate leaders rolled out updated language Tuesday for a major housing package that also includes a high-profile, temporary ban on a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) — a move that will be watched closely by crypto industry participants. What’s in the bill - The package, H.R. 6644 — branded the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — is a wide-ranging effort to increase housing supply, lower costs for buyers and renters, and curb institutional investors from scooping up single-family homes. Lawmakers say it bundles priorities from the Senate, House and White House. - Tucked into the bill is a clear, time-limited CBDC prohibition: the Federal Reserve “may not issue or create a central bank digital currency” or anything substantially similar through December 31, 2030. - Importantly for crypto markets, the text carves out private dollar alternatives. It exempts open, permissionless private dollar assets — such as stablecoins — so long as they preserve “the privacy protections of United States coins and physical currency.” Who’s behind it - The release was led by Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-SC), Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-AR), and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA). Scott called the bill a chance to “deliver real relief for the American people,” while Warren described it as the biggest housing bill in more than 30 years. Waters said the text includes more than 50 housing and banking provisions Democrats pushed to secure. - To clinch the deal, negotiators accepted a three-year sunset for a disaster-recovery block grant program and adopted House-backed measures including nine community banking bills and language to limit institutional homebuyers, Hill said. Why the CBDC ban matters to crypto - CBDCs — government-issued digital cash equivalents — have become a flashpoint. Critics argue they could enable new forms of financial surveillance; supporters say they would modernize payments and monetary policy tools. - The anti-CBDC clause was pushed by House Republicans and has the backing of the Trump White House; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is reported to have reiterated that a digital dollar is off the table. Some conservatives, such as Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), want a permanent ban, calling CBDCs “bad for everyone.” - The inclusion of a carveout for open, permissionless private dollar assets could be interpreted as supportive of certain stablecoin models — though the requirement to preserve the “privacy protections” of physical currency leaves room for interpretation and future debate over compliance and design. Legislative status and votes - The Senate first attached the CBDC ban in March, passing the package 89-10; the House approved its amended version 396-13 in May. With the updated text released Tuesday, the bill now returns to the Senate floor for consideration. Bottom line - H.R. 6644 is primarily a housing bill, but its temporary CBDC prohibition and stablecoin carveout make it a consequential piece of legislation for the digital-asset space. The 2030 sunset gives the industry and regulators a multi-year runway to shape policy and product design — even as the privacy and technical details of any exempted private dollar assets remain likely flashpoints for future rulemaking and political debate. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news