08-27-2025 
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Republican lawmakers from the United States House of Representatives have amended the proposed annual defense budget bill to include provisions that effectively ban central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), arguing that the measure would protect citizens’ privacy.
The amendment was added on August 19 to House bill H.R. 3838, also known as the ‘Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery (SPEED) Act,’ initially introduced by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) on June 9.
The SPEED Act serves as the foundation for the coming fiscal year’s ‘National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)’, a series of U.S. federal laws specifying the yearly budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense.
While principally focused on military and defense spending, the NDAA also establishes defense-related policies and “restrictions,” hence the Republicans slipping in their anti-CBDC provisions.
Specifically, the amendment would prohibit the Federal Reserve (Fed)—the central bank of the U.S.—from testing, developing, or implementing a CBDC, under any name, and prevent it from offering a CBDC indirectly to an individual through a financial institution or other intermediary.
It also clarified that the Fed does not have the authority to issue any CBDC “unless Congress grants it.”
For the purposes of the bill, CBDC was defined as a form of digital money or monetary value that is: denominated in the U.S. dollar; a direct liability of the Federal Reserve System; and widely available to the general public.
The amendment included an exception for “any dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private, and fully preserves the privacy protections of United States coins and physical currency”—in other words, U.S.-dollar stablecoins.
The additions to the SPEED Act/NDAA are based on a previous Republican-led House bill, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, which was introduced into the House by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) in February 2023 and passed in May 2024.
The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act is currently working its way through the Senate and, if passed, would amend the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to prohibit Federal Reserve banks “from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, to prohibit the use of central bank digital currency for monetary policy, and for other purposes.”
According to a July X post by Emmer, “attaching our Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to the NDAA will ensure unelected bureaucrats are NEVER allowed to trade Americans’ financial privacy for a CCP-style surveillance tool.”
He added that President Donald Trump had “made it clear: our legislation is a key piece of our America First agenda, and we will deliver.”
Trump has made no secret of his feelings towards CBDCs. In January 2024, while on the election campaign trail, he described CBDCs as a “dangerous threat to freedom,” and vowed that “as your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency.”Once elected, Trump followed through on this promise, announcing in a January 23 executive order a prohibition on U.S. federal agencies developing a CBDC.
In the order, the president said he was taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of CBDCs, which “threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States.”
This put the kibosh on a U.S. CBDC in the short term—at least while Trump is president—but to prevent a later administration from simply revoking or modifying this order, legislation passed by Congress is also needed—hence Republican-led efforts to pass the CBDC-Anti Surveillance State Act and slip its provisions into the NDAA.
US bucks global CBDC drive
While the prevailing winds in the U.S. are blowing very much against CBDCs, globally, this appears to be the exception rather than the rule.
According to the Atlantic Council, as of July 2025, 137 countries and currency unions, representing 98% of global GDP, are exploring a CBDC. This includes economic powerhouses such as the European Union, China, India, and Brazil.
In all, there are currently 49 CBDC pilot projects around the world, and three countries have one fully launched: the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria.
The largest CBDC pilot in the world—and the example that appears to be of most concern to the U.S.—is the People’s Republic of China’s digital yuan (e-CNY). Based on Atlantic Council data, in June 2024, its total transaction volume reached 7 trillion e-CNY ($986 billion) in 17 provincial regions, across education, healthcare, and tourism sectors.
Meanwhile, in June, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde reaffirmed the EU-central bank’s commitment to launching the Digital Euro across the 27-nation bloc. It is currently being tested and awaiting legislation for the official go-ahead.
While some argue that the fears around privacy and state surveillance are overblown, concerns remain, and several jurisdictions have been exploring ways to address these concerns, including the United Kingdom and the EU.
Despite this, the current U.S. administration appears convinced of its anti-CBDC stance and committed to preventing a Fed-issued digital dollar. With its new anti-CBDC amendment, the SPEED Act and NDAA will now be scheduled for a vote in the House, after which, should it progress, it will head to the Senate and ultimately to the president’s desk for approval.
Watch: Finding ways to use CBDC outside of digital currencies
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