The U.S. Senate has passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with a decisive 85–5 vote, sending a wide-ranging bill that ties housing reforms to a temporary ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to the House of Representatives.
If approved by the House and signed into law, the legislation would expand housing supply measures while preventing the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC or similar digital asset until at least December 31, 2030.
Housing and CBDC provisions move together
The bill, formally known as H.R. 6644, combines policies aimed at boosting housing construction and limiting the influence of large corporate landlords with a restriction on federal digital currency development.
Lawmakers from both parties backed the combined approach. House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry Hill said the bill focuses on increasing construction and lowering costs for families.
House leadership is expected to fast-track the measure when sessions resume on June 23, with the goal of advancing it quickly to the president.
Strategic use of legislative bundling
The inclusion of CBDC restrictions within a housing package reflects a broader legislative tactic: attaching more contentious provisions to widely supported bills. Earlier efforts by House Republicans to link digital currency limits with housing policy played a key role in building consensus.
The current administration has consistently opposed launching a CBDC. Treasury Secretary Bessent recently reiterated that such a policy is not under consideration, pointing instead to efforts to regulate existing digital assets.
Strong bipartisan backing continues
The House previously passed its own amended version of H.R. 6644 in a 396–13 vote, sending it back for further negotiations. The overlapping support suggests lawmakers are likely to reconcile differences and move the legislation forward.
The bill comes at a time of strain in the U.S. housing market. Housing starts fell 15.4% in May to their lowest annual pace since 2020, while affordability remains a major concern.
Recent data shows a 1.7% year-over-year increase in new home listings, though nearly half of sellers—46.2%—are offering concessions, highlighting ongoing market pressure.
Limited impact of corporate landlord measures
While the bill targets large corporate landlords, their share of the U.S. single-family housing market remains below 0.5%. This suggests the provision addresses public concern more than a dominant market force.
Implications for digital asset markets
The proposed CBDC ban creates a clear multi-year window without competition from a government-backed digital dollar, removing a layer of uncertainty in the digital asset space.
Attention is now shifting toward the Clarity Act, a separate proposal advancing through Congress that would define how digital assets are classified and regulated. The bill would divide oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, depending on whether assets qualify as investment contracts or digital commodities.
For traders, the regulatory outlook is increasingly centered on classification and compliance rather than the potential arrival of a CBDC. The outcome of the Clarity Act could determine how different digital assets evolve within the U.S. financial system, particularly those that may transition between regulatory categories over time.
Concerned about CBDCs and digital money policy? Explore how they differ from crypto in this detailed explainer today.
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