Is a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency “Banned”? What the Law Says, What It Doesn't, and Where Canada, Britain and Europe Stand

What we found

• The executive order (Jan. 23, 2025): “Except to the extent required by law, agencies are hereby prohibited from undertaking any action to establish, issue, or promote CBDCs,” and any agency plans for one “shall be immediately terminated” [1]. It is an executive order, not a law.
• The law (July 11, 2026): the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (Public Law 119-101) added a new section to the Federal Reserve Act. It says the Fed Board or a Federal Reserve bank “may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar,” directly or through a bank or other intermediary. It defines a CBDC as a dollar digital asset that is U.S. currency, a direct liability of the Federal Reserve and widely available to the public. It exempts “dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private” that fully preserves the privacy of coins and cash. The section ceases to be effective on December 31, 2030 [2]. Trump said he would not sign the bill, and it became law without his signature. Reports put the final votes at 85–5 in the Senate and 358–32 in the House [3].
• The wider House bill: the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (H.R. 1919, Rep. Tom Emmer) passed the House on July 17, 2025, 219–210 (217 Republicans and 2 Democrats voted yes) [4]. One outlet reported 219–217, which does not match the official roll call [5]. It goes further than the enacted law: it would also bar the Fed from offering products or services directly to individuals and from using a CBDC for monetary policy [5][6]. The Senate companion (S. 1124) was referred to the Banking Committee on March 25, 2025 [6]. On April 29, 2026 the House attached the anti-CBDC text to another bill (S. 1318, a surveillance-law renewal), and the Senate rejected a motion to proceed to that House version, 47–52 [6][7]. We did not find a vote that enacted the broader bill.
• Canada: on Sept. 24, 2024 Governor Tiff Macklem said “there is not currently a compelling case to move forward with a CBDC in Canada,” and the Bank was scaling down its retail work. It said it would keep monitoring developments [8].
• Britain: on Oct. 12, 2026 a Bank of England deputy governor said the Bank does not see an urgent need for a retail digital pound, pointing instead to tokenised bank deposits and sterling stablecoins [9].
• Europe: on July 9, 2026 the European Parliament voted 416–169, with 22 abstentions, to open negotiations on the legal framework for a digital euro. Its lead negotiator, Fernando Navarrete Rojas, called it “an alternative, not a requirement.” A deal is targeted by end-2026, a pilot for mid-2027 and public availability for 2029 [10][11].

We rate the claim Mostly True. A Fed-issued retail digital dollar is barred by federal law, and federal agencies are barred by executive order. It is not a permanent ban: the statute lapses on Dec. 31, 2030 unless Congress acts, it covers issuing or creating a CBDC (not the broader limits in the House bill), and the executive order could be reversed by a later president. “Banned” is accurate for now and incomplete as a permanent statement.

What we still don't know

• Will Congress renew the Dec. 31, 2030 deadline, or pass the broader House bill? We found no announced plan.
• Would a future administration keep the executive order?
• What will the final EU digital euro law say about holding limits and offline use?
• The date of the Senate's 47–52 vote on S. 1318. The tracker we read did not give it, and senate.gov blocked our tool.

Sources

Book connection: Escaping the Human Zoo, Rings 1 and 9 (Finance, Technology). This article reports legal status. It does not argue for or against any CBDC. Found an error? Corrections policy · Submit a claim