What happened
According to South Korean outlet Tokenpost, citing a MEXC Ventures report, the US Senate recently passed a bill that would ban the Federal Reserve (Fed) from directly issuing a retail central bank digital currency (retail CBDC) to the public through the end of 2030. The core of MEXC Ventures’ interpretation is this: the legislation elevates opposition to a state-issued digital dollar from the level of an executive order to the level of statute — using congressional legislation to lock in the policy direction, while leaving institutional room for dollar-denominated private stablecoins.
To be transparent: we can only trace the vote tally, the exact name and number of the bill, and the specific location of the “retail CBDC ban” clause within the bill back to this single secondhand Korean-language report from Tokenpost — we cannot independently confirm them. Readers who want to verify this are advised to search directly on congress.gov’s legislative search using relevant keywords for the current Congress’s bill text. Until the official bill number and provisions are confirmed, this article treats MEXC Ventures’ conclusion as “industry interpretation,” not settled legal fact.
Editorial take: what this means for USDT card users
Let’s be clear about the direction first: this news is neutral-to-positive for cardholders, and there is no action you need to take immediately.
Here’s the reasoning. If the Fed were to directly issue a retail CBDC, it would in theory become a strong competitor to private stablecoins (USDT, USDC) — backed by sovereign credit, carrying zero credit risk, and potentially connected directly to the banking system. By codifying “no retail CBDC in the coming years” at the legislative level, the US effectively puts this potential competitor on hold, allowing private stablecoins to continue occupying the actual circulation position of the digital dollar.
For virtual cards funded with USDT and converted to USD spending on demand, this means the status of the underlying settlement asset is unlikely to be displaced by an “official digital dollar” in the near term. Whether it’s the Asia-Pacific route MPCard (whose Asia Elite variant emphasizes consistency across Asia-Pacific account, Asia-Pacific IP, and Asia-Pacific card BIN), the exchange-affiliated Bybit Card, or the emerging RedotPay, their USDT/USDC top-up-to-spend pipelines are not directly affected by this news.
Expected timeline:
- Within 7 days: No change. The path from legislation to implementation to actual impact on card issuer policy is measured in quarters, if not years.
- Within 30 days: Compliant stablecoin players like Circle (issuer of USDC) may issue positive statements, but USDT’s actual exchange rate and card fees won’t move because of this.
- Within 90 days: What’s genuinely worth watching is the progress of supporting rules for US stablecoin legislation (such as the GENIUS Act framework) — this is what directly affects the compliance boundaries of USDC card products.
Historical comparison: how this differs from the past
Placing this on a timeline helps keep perspective.
The USDC de-peg in March 2023 due to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse was a market risk event — something went wrong with the stablecoin’s reserve bank. This is a policy direction event — the state choosing not to enter the digital currency arena itself. The two are entirely different in nature: the former shook the stablecoin’s “anchor,” while the latter actually helps clear the field for private stablecoins.
In early 2025, the Trump administration expressed opposition to retail CBDC via executive order (readers should check the official White House announcement for the specific executive order number). What’s different about this legislation (if accurate) is that an executive order can be overturned by the next administration, while congressional legislation carries a higher order of stability. This is precisely what MEXC Ventures means by “locking it in through law” — the policy is upgraded from “the current administration’s preference” to “an institutional arrangement.”
But a point of similarity is worth noting too: whether via executive order or legislation, this only means “the Fed won’t directly issue a retail CBDC” — it does not mean the US is broadly embracing USDT. Regulatory requirements for private stablecoins (reserve transparency, issuer qualifications, AML/KYC) will only get more detailed, not looser.
Regulatory and compliance boundaries
Three boundaries need to be kept distinct:
- Clearly advancing: The legislative framework for dollar stablecoins continues to take shape. But for the effective date of specific bills like the GENIUS Act, which provisions have already taken effect, and which are still being worked out in supporting rules, refer to the official congress.gov page as of your reading date — this article makes no assertion about their exact current status.
- Gray area: USDT’s (Tether’s) regulatory standing within the US remains less clear than USDC’s. The legislative pause on retail CBDC does not change this.
- Irrelevant to you but easily misread: This is domestic US legislation with no direct jurisdictional effect on card usage for Asia-Pacific users. The compliance focus for Asia-Pacific users remains with their own local jurisdiction — for example, the Hong Kong compliance guide and Japan compliance guide are far more relevant to your day-to-day card use.
Milestones worth watching next
- When the bill text is confirmed on congress.gov: Only once the bill number, provisions, and final vote record are made public can details like “85 to 5” or “CBDC ban included in a 21st-century housing bill” be verified.
- Supporting rules for US stablecoin legislation: This directly bears on the compliance boundaries of USDC card products within the US.
- Official responses from Circle / Tether: Whether issuers adjust their dollar stablecoin strategy in response.
- The EU’s MiCAR counter-move: The US is choosing “private stablecoins first,” while the EU maintains strict oversight under the MiCAR framework — this divergence in paths is worth tracking long-term. EU users can refer to the EU compliance guide.
Editorial recommendations
- Users holding a USDT virtual card: no action needed. This is policy-direction news, not fee or card-freeze news. The top-up, spending, and exchange rates on your MPCard or Bybit Card will not change because of this.
- Users relying on USDC for US-region subscriptions (e.g., ChatGPT Plus, Claude): This news doesn’t affect your current situation, but it’s worth keeping the progress of US stablecoin legislation’s supporting rules on your long-term watchlist. See the ChatGPT Plus top-up scenario for currently available paths.
- Users planning to apply for a new card: There’s no need to move your timeline up or push it back because of this news. Card selection should still come down to verifiable dimensions like fees, limits, and route consistency — for example, by comparing 5 U-Cards Worth Using in 2026.
- Everyone: Until congress.gov publishes the bill text, don’t repeat things like “passed 85 to 5” or “banned until 2030” as settled fact — this remains a secondhand report awaiting official verification.
Whether the digital dollar’s center of gravity truly tilts toward private stablecoins is a question that will be answered over years, not days. For cardholders today, the most rational move is: be aware of this, but don’t change anything because of it.