French Hill Favors Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins, Ban on CBDC

House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Arkansas, said Tuesday (March 11) that he supports the development of a federal framework for payment stablecoins and opposes the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

In remarks prepared for delivery at a Tuesday hearing focused on these issues, Hill said he supports two bills recently introduced or re-introduced in the House: the STABLE Act, which is focused on stablecoins, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would prohibit a U.S. CBDC.

The STABLE Act, which builds upon the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023 that the committee passed during the last Congress, strengthens the operational standards for payment stablecoin issuers, clarifies the supervision and enforcement authorities of the state and federal regulators that would oversee these entities, and ensures that Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and oversight are included in the framework, Hill said.

“A properly regulated stablecoin market can strengthen the U.S. dollar’s dominance, modernize our payments infrastructure and promote financial access without government overreach,” Hill said in his prepared remarks.

Hill said he supports the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which was re-introduced to this Congress and would prohibit a U.S. CBDC, because a CBDC would suppress competition and undermine the progress made by stablecoins.

“Unlike stablecoins, which operate in a competitive market, a CBDC would concentrate financial power within the federal government, restrict consumer choice and undermine the innovation that has made U.S. financial markets the strongest in the world,” Hill said in his prepared remarks. “A CBDC would also suppress competition, jeopardize financial privacy and weaken the role of the U.S. banking system.”

The Senate is considering a stablecoin bill called the GENIUS Act that proposes a regulatory balance between state and federal oversight that allows smaller issuers to operate under state supervision while placing larger stablecoin providers under federal jurisdiction, among other requirements, PYMNTS reported Friday (March 7).

After the White House Crypto Summit held Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reclarified certain crypto banking permissions, confirming that crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities and participation in independent node verification networks such as distributed ledger are permissible for national banks and federal savings associations, PYMNTS reported.