tl;dr
The US House has added a provision to the 2026 defense policy bill banning the Federal Reserve from issuing, studying, or developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (HR 3838) follows the earlier passage of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance St...
The US House has incorporated a provision banning the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) into a nearly 1,300-page bill outlining the 2026 fiscal year’s defense policy. This amendment to HR 3838, the House’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) proposal, was revealed by the House Rules Committee and includes comprehensive language preventing the Federal Reserve from studying, developing, or creating any digital currency.
This move mirrors the earlier passage of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act in July, a Republican-supported initiative that narrowly passed 219 to 210, although its fate in the Senate remains uncertain. The NDAA is considered essential legislation that directs military funding and expenditure, often serving as a vehicle for unrelated policy provisions that might otherwise stall if introduced independently.
In response to pressure from conservative factions, House leadership committed to embedding the CBDC ban in the defense bill. This promise came after a group of Republican holdouts delayed floor debate on three cryptocurrency-related bills for over nine hours—the longest in House history—insisting that a CBDC ban be included. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise confirmed that the ban would be appended to the NDAA, facilitating progress on the stalled legislation.
The provision explicitly prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing any digital currency or asset, as well as from providing financial products or services directly to individuals. It forbids the central bank from “testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing” a digital currency or asset but exempts stablecoins, specifying that the ban does not apply to “any dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private.”
Republican efforts to ban CBDCs have a longer history. A similar bill introduced by Representative Tom Emmer in early 2023 failed to advance and expired at the end of the previous congressional session. Emmer reintroduced the legislation in the current Congress, rallying support that aligns with President Donald Trump’s January executive order opposing CBDCs, underscoring ongoing partisan resistance to central bank digital currencies within the party.