No CBDC, All Clarity: Bessent Tells Senate to Fast-Track Crypto's Big Moving Day 📦

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on May 28, 2026 used a White House press briefing to draw a firm line on U.S. digital asset policy, declaring that no central bank digital currency would be issued under President Donald Trump and pressing Congress to pass the CLARITY Act before the summer recess. "There will be no central bank digital currency, which I think would be the first step toward tracking. So we have taken that off the table," Bessent told reporters, in a segment that resurfaced on X this week and circulated widely across crypto communities.

The CLARITY Act, formally H.R. 3633 and titled the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, passed the U.S. House in July 2025 by a 294–134 bipartisan margin. On May 14, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee voted 15–9 to advance the bill, and it now sits on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. The Senate returns on July 17, 2026, leaving roughly three weeks before the August recess, which Bessent and other supporters have described as the last realistic window to move the legislation in this Congress.

Bessent's no-CBDC stance aligns the Treasury with a market structure that favors private stablecoins and tokenized assets issued by regulated entities. Proponents in the crypto sector, including exchanges, custodians and issuers, have said the bill would supply the long-sought rules separating Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight of digital tokens. Bessent did not specify any enforcement changes at the briefing but framed swift passage as central to keeping digital asset activity within U.S. jurisdiction.

The administration's posture contrasts with prior federal research efforts into a retail or wholesale digital dollar, including work that had continued at Federal Reserve research divisions through 2024 and 2025. By publicly removing the CBDC option, Bessent narrowed the policy debate to questions of market structure, stablecoin reserve requirements and consumer disclosures contained in the House-passed text.

The Treasury Secretary did not announce new funding, agency rulemakings or enforcement actions tied to the CLARITY Act during the briefing. Lawmakers in both parties have filed companion measures on stablecoin reserve composition and disclosure, and Senate leadership has not yet scheduled floor time for H.R. 3633.