There is a very interesting thing that happened in America which didn't get much attention. The Senate added a provision to its housing bill that blocks the digital dollar, or retail CBDC, until 2030. And this isn't limited to just CBDCs — it also includes nearly identical digital assets in language.

What’s interesting is that this provision was suddenly added to the housing bill under pressure from House Republicans. The Senate passed it by a margin of 84-6 — which is very rare in Senate voting. The Federal Reserve had already stated that it would not issue any digital currency without Congress’s approval, but now this restriction has become legally formalized. The White House also supported this move.

This means that for the next four years, there will be no government digital currency initiatives from the U.S. side. While this is halted here, China is expanding its digital yuan, and Europe is also working on its digital currency. This is a major geopolitical difference.

Interestingly, private stablecoins — USDC and USDT — are already leading in digital payments in the U.S. So, in essence, the concept of digital currency already exists here, just not at the government level. Investors like Ray Dalio believe that global economies are moving toward more digital and controlled currencies.

So, this housing bill is a significant policy change, even if it didn’t get much attention. The U.S. has shut down retail digital dollars for the next decade, while the rest of the world is working on alternative digital currencies. This is a turning point that the crypto and fintech space should take seriously.