US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated at a press briefing on Thursday (May 29) that the Trump administration will not issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) during its term, while urging the House and Senate to move quickly on passing the Clarity Act. According to The Block’s report, Bessent put “no CBDC” and “accelerating stablecoin market structure legislation” in the same statement — this isn’t an isolated slogan, but a coherent policy signal: the government is stepping back from retail digital currency and leaving that space to private stablecoins (USDT, USDC, and others).
What this means for USDT card users
Let’s put the conclusion first: there is nothing you need to do with any card you currently hold, within the next 7 days. This is a policy-direction news item, not a rule change — no card issuer needs to adjust fees, KYC, or BIN because of it.
But the direction is worth noting. The entire business model of USDT virtual cards rests on “private stablecoins + Visa/Mastercard clearing networks.” A US Treasury that explicitly states it won’t compete with private stablecoins is, at the highest policy level, clearing the path for this business. If the US had actually launched a retail CBDC, it would have squeezed USDT’s share of dollar settlement use cases over the long run; that risk has now been officially ruled out by the Treasury’s own words.
For users who rely on dollar-based rails to pay for subscriptions or use US-region services — for example, paying for ChatGPT Plus or Claude Code with a card — this is a mild positive: the underlying legitimacy of the USDT you use to top up is a notch more secure within the US regulatory framework.
Users in Asia-Pacific will feel this much less directly. As we’ve repeatedly noted in the MPCard review, the Asia Elite variant runs on Asia-Pacific rails, which run on a track parallel to US regulatory developments. The same applies to exchange cards like Bybit Card, which are governed far more by the licensing jurisdiction they operate under (mostly the EU or UAE) than by statements from the US Treasury. Within a 30-day / 90-day window, you won’t see any changes to these cards as a result of Bessent’s remarks.
Historical comparison: this time is different from 2022
CBDC is not a new topic in the US. In 2022, the Biden administration signed Executive Order 14067, directing the Federal Reserve to study the feasibility of a “digital dollar.” At the time, the market briefly worried that a retail CBDC could become reality, squeezing the room for private stablecoins to operate. The tone back then was “study, wait and see, don’t rule it out.”
The key difference this time is: the shift from “studying” to a clear “won’t do it.” Policy has moved from “keeping the option open” to “actively ruling it out,” and the space that’s been vacated has been explicitly assigned to private stablecoin legislation (the Clarity Act). In other words, 2022 was undecided; 2026 is the direction landing.
Another point of comparison is the brief USDC depegging event in 2023 — which reminded everyone that a stablecoin’s vulnerability lies in its reserves and regulatory framework, not its technology. What market structure bills like the Clarity Act aim to address are precisely those soft spots exposed back then: reserve audits and issuer qualifications. Progress on legislation is a long-term reinforcement for stablecoins, not a short-term fluctuation.
Regulatory boundary: where things stand now
To be clear: Bessent’s statement is a policy direction, not a law already in effect. The Clarity Act is still in Congress and has not been finally passed. So the compliance boundary hasn’t moved:
- Clearly permitted: Under licensed card-issuer frameworks, topping up a virtual card with USDT for spending is legal in most jurisdictions.
- Gray area: Tax reporting for cross-border card use, and matching personal KYC with local resident status — these have always been the user’s own responsibility, and that doesn’t change because of what the US Treasury says.
- Undecided: The unified federal licensing rules for US domestic stablecoin issuers won’t become clear until the Clarity Act is finalized.
For users in mainland China, the reminder remains unchanged: domestic attitudes toward crypto-related activity operate on a separate track from the US, and Washington’s “friendliness” doesn’t change the compliance environment on your end — see the Mainland China compliance guide for details. Users in Hongkong should continue to follow local stablecone ordinances — see the Hongkong compliance guide.
Milestones worth watching next
- The Clarity Act’s Congressional voting timeline — Bessent is pushing, but when the House and Senate actually schedule a vote is the key signal. Only once it reaches a real vote will it truly start affecting card issuers’ compliance structures.
- Official responses from stablecoin issuers — whether Tether and Circle comment on the “private stablecoins first” policy direction.
- Movement on US-region card issuance rails — MPCard’s US Direct variant is currently suspended; if US stablecoin legislation advances, the timing of a relaunch for this kind of US-region product is worth watching.
- The Federal Reserve’s official position — the Treasury says no CBDC; whether the Fed echoes that stance will determine how firm this “no CBDC” commitment really is.
Editorial recommendation
- If you hold MPCard, Bybit Card, or any other existing card: no action needed. This is direction-of-policy news, not a rule change.
- Users running US-region subscriptions and paying ChatGPT/Claude with USDT top-ups: you can file this as a long-term positive backdrop, but there’s no need to adjust your top-up or card-switching strategy because of it.
- Users planning to apply specifically for US-region card rails: we’d suggest continuing to hold off, and waiting to see the details of any US-region product relaunch once the Clarity Act reaches a real vote. Asia-Pacific rails (such as the Asia Elite variant) remain the steadier choice for now.
- If you’re shopping for a card, fees — more than regulatory direction — remain the biggest driver of day-to-day differences. Start with the 2026 overall ranking and the lowest-fee card comparison.
In one line: Bessent’s remarks are reassurance for anyone who’s bullish on USDT cards long-term, but there’s nothing you need to do about it today.