Congress has advanced separate restrictions on stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. The Senate Banking Committee released a draft on January 12 that would prohibit digital-asset service providers from paying interest or yield on stablecoin balances. The Senate also advanced a CBDC ban through 2031 as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. At the state level, Virginia enacted a law on April 13 creating a framework for unclaimed digital assets, effective July 1, 2026.
Firms operating in payments, custody, trading, and tokenization should expect material compliance obligations across multiple fronts. The regulatory landscape is shifting from experimental to formalized: securities classification rules are now explicit, AML and sanctions requirements are tightening, stablecoin yield restrictions are coming, and jurisdictional coordination between federal agencies is deepening. Companies should audit their current practices against the SEC's interpretive release and prepare for the proposed FinCEN/OFAC rules, particularly if they handle stablecoins or provide custody services.