US House to consider retroactive CBDC ban in market structure bill

The US House of Representatives may have a shorter legislative path to bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by using a market structure bill it passed in July.

In a Monday hearing of the House Rules Committee, a draft agenda showed a proposal to add the text of the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act — also passed by the chamber in July, albeit by a narrow margin — to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.

The engrossment method would add the CBDC bill to the final version of the existing market structure bill sent to the Senate for consideration.

Proposed rule to combine House market structure and CBDC bills. Source: US House Rules Committee

House Republicans considered a similar move before a floor vote in July on the GENIUS Act — a bill to regulate payment stablecoins. Some lawmakers wanted the stablecoin bill to explicitly include a ban on CBDCs before a floor vote, slowing passage before the chamber’s August recess. All three bills eventually passed with some bipartisan support. 

It’s unclear whether the engrossed House bill combining market structure and a CBDC ban would have any effect on the legislation being proposed in the Senate.

Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee said their version of market structure “built on” the CLARITY Act, but was distinct legislation under a different name: the Responsible Financial Innovation Act.

Related: Key Republican senator expects Democratic support for US crypto market structure bill

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the market structure bill’s key backers, said the banking committee planned to pass the legislation by the end of September, with US President Donald Trump potentially signing it into law by 2026. At the time of publication, no vote on the bill had been scheduled with the banking committee.

Senate Democrats offer their own framework for market structure

Though Republicans maintain control of both the House and Senate, their slim majority in both chambers may require some support from Democrats to pass legislation, including the proposed market structure bill.

Both parties’ proposals included ways to update regulatory requirements to provide regulatory clarity for the digital asset industry. However, Democrats called for provisions to address what they called Trump’s “undermin[ing] confidence in the broader digital asset industry,” in reference to Trump’s family crypto ventures.

Whether Republicans intended to address Trump’s ties to the industry through his family’s mining venture, American Bitcoin, World Liberty Financial and his personal memecoin in the bill was unclear at the time of publication. The bill is expected to head for a committee vote within two weeks.

Magazine: XRP to retest highs? Bitcoin won’t go sideways for long: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 7 – 13