The
U.S.
House
of
Representatives
voted
largely
along
party
lines
to
prevent
the
Federal
Reserve
from
issuing
a
central
bank
digital
currency.
The
CBDC
Anti-Surveillance
State
Act,
introduced
by
Majority
Whip
Tom
Emmer
(R-Minn.),
seeks
to
block
the
U.S.
central
bank
from
continuing
efforts
toward
the
development
of
a
digital
dollar.
Republicans
expressed
concerns
that
a
U.S.
CBDC
could
be
used
to
control
Americans.
Democrats
said
during
debate
before
Thursday’s
vote
that
the
concerns
were
overblown
and
a
ban
would
block
public
sector
innovation
and
research.
Overall,
213
Republicans
and
three
Democrats
voted
for
the
bill,
while
192
Democrats
voted
against
it.
Thursday’s
vote
count
is
a
far
cry
from
a
vote
the
day
before,
when
71
Democrats
joined
208
Republicans
in
voting
for
the
Financial
Innovation
and
Technology
for
the
21st
Century
Act,
a
crypto
market
structure
bill
that
would
give
the
U.S.
Commodity
Futures
Trading
Commission
greater
spot
market
authority
over
digital
assets
and
spells
out
how
another
key
U.S.
markets
regulator,
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission,
can
approach
the
sector.
Industry
participants
hailed
Wednesday’s
vote,
the
first
for
a
bill
focused
solely
on
crypto
market
issues,
as
a
sign
that
the
sector
was
finally
receiving
recognition
as
being
significant.
“The
House
passage
of
FIT21
represents
a
watershed
moment
and
badge
of
Congressional
validation
for
the
crypto
industry
in
the
United
States,”
said
Kristin
Smith,
who
heads
up
the
Blockchain
Association,
an
industry
lobby
group.
Nicole
Valentine,
the
director
of
FinTech
at
the
Milken
Institute,
similarly
called
the
passage
a
“welcome
step.”
However,
both
the
market
structure
and
the
anti-CBDC
bills
seem
headed
toward
similar
fates
in
the
Senate
–
going
nowhere
–
given
that
half
of
congress
does
not
have
a
counterpart
for
either
piece
of
legislation.