(17 March 2026 – United States) On Thursday, 12 March, the US Senate voted in favour of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) amendment, prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC until 2030. The amendment passed with an 89-10 vote, receiving strong bipartisan support across the Senate.
The restriction is embedded within the broader 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which aims to address housing affordability in the United States. However, the future of the legislation remains uncertain as it moves to the House of Representatives.
US President Donald Trump has indicated that he may refuse to sign any new laws unless Congress first passes a requirement that voters must prove their identification and citizenship before partaking in this year’s congressional midterm election.
A CBDC is a digital form of a nation’s sovereign currency, issued and regulated directly by the national bank. Opposition to a US CBDC has long been popular among Republican lawmakers, many of whom argue that a government-issued digital currency could threaten financial privacy.
Back in January, when he signed an executive order to prevent federal agencies from issuing CBDCs, Trump said: “Measures will be taken to protect Americans from the risks of CBDCs, which threaten financial system stability, individual privacy, and US sovereignty. This includes prohibiting the establishment, issuance, and use of CBDCs within the United States.”
The key provisions of the new order also include advancing the global growth of dollar-backed stablecoins, protecting access to open blockchain networks, promoting fair access to banking services, and creating a ‘President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets’.
“Financial privacy is a cornerstone of American freedom, and any decision to authorise a CBDC must remain with Congress and the American people,” said Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber. “We appreciate the Senate reinforcing that digital innovation in the United States should be led by the private sector while protecting individual liberty.”
Yet, although most stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin are pegged to the US dollar, private stablecoins may struggle to reach global dominance with the efficiency which a centrally-led CBDC can.
The new development could impact the dollar’s global dominance, as other sovereign digital currencies gain prominence. For instance, the Chinese digital yuan is already being tested, alongside aims to create Chinese alternatives to the Belgium-based SWIFT system.
In November 2025, China and the UAE conducted their first cross-border payment using the mBridge platform, which connects different countries’ CBDCs on a shared ledger. It was a demonstration transaction, with each party using its own CBDC (digital dirham and digital yuan).
The mBridge platform handled the instant FX conversion and settlement between them without traditional banking intermediaries. The digital yuan currently dominates on the mBridge network, accounting for around 95% of transaction volumes.