This bill changes the Federal Reserve Act to stop Federal Reserve banks from offering certain products or services directly to individuals. It adds rules that a Federal Reserve bank may not offer products or services directly to an individual, keep an account for an individual, or issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or any similar digital asset. The bill also bars Federal Reserve banks from offering a CBDC indirectly to individuals through other banks or intermediaries.
The Board of Governors would be prohibited from testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing a CBDC. The bill also says the Fed and the Federal Open Market Committee may not use a CBDC to carry out monetary policy. The bill defines "central bank digital currency" as digital money that is (1) denominated in the national unit of account, (2) a direct liability of the Federal Reserve System, and (3) widely available to the general public. There is an exception stating these provisions do not prohibit a dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, private, and preserves the privacy protections of coins and physical cash.
The bill includes a "sense of Congress" statement saying the Board of Governors currently does not have authority to issue a CBDC and would need Congress to grant such authority under Article I, Section 8.
If this bill becomes law, individuals would not be able to hold accounts at Federal Reserve banks or receive a CBDC issued by the Federal Reserve, either directly or through another bank. The Federal Reserve would be barred from researching, testing, developing, or using a CBDC for monetary policy. The bill preserves an exception for private, open, permissionless digital money that keeps the privacy protections of physical cash.
No publicly available information.
Supporters of the bill, reflected by its title and text, seek to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing or implementing a CBDC and to protect the privacy features of cash. The bill also states that the Fed does not currently have authority to issue a CBDC and that Congress would have to grant that authority.
No publicly available information.