TD Cowen: Congress may be close to permanently banning the Federal Reserve from issuing CBDCs.

PANews reported on March 11 that, according to The Block, investment bank TD Cowen stated that Congress may be close to permanently banning the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar. Senator Ted Cruz last week submitted an amendment to the Senate housing bill, proposing to make the current temporary ban, which runs until 2030, permanent. The housing legislation is expected to be voted on in the Senate as early as this week.

TD Cowen believes that a permanent ban on CBDCs would benefit stablecoin issuers, eliminating concerns that the Federal Reserve might disrupt their business. However, this move could become another obstacle to the CLARITY Act, a crypto market structure bill, as lawmakers may believe that with the GENIUS stablecoin bill and the CBDC ban already passed, there's no need to push for the CLARITY Act this year. Analysts point out that each additional hurdle reduces the likelihood of the bill passing. Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill prohibiting the Federal Reserve from directly issuing CBDCs to individuals.