US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the government will begin publishing its economic statistics on blockchain. The announcement was made at a cabinet meeting attended by President Donald Trump. Lutnick described this move as "the US entering a new era of transparency and reliability."
First Step: Moving GDP Data to the Chain
According to Secretary Lutnick, the Department of Commerce will initially publish Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data on the blockchain. The goal is to make this data more widely available and easier to distribute. Once the implementation process is complete, other key economic indicators such as inflation rates, employment reports, and the census will also be shared on the chain.
As of today, much publicly available data will gain an immutable and transparent infrastructure thanks to blockchain integration. This will increase, if not the accuracy of economic indicators, then at least the trust in their distribution and storage processes.
US Joins Global Trend
This development places the US among the countries using blockchain technology in public data. Estonia has been using blockchain-based infrastructure in its healthcare system since 2016. The European Union launched the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) in 2018. Singapore and Australia launched blockchain pilot projects for commercial documents in 2021, while California digitized 42 million vehicle registrations on an Avalanche-based blockchain last year.
While this US move appears to align with global public administration trends, it also raises some controversy. Experts argue that while blockchain provides assurance regarding how data is stored and distributed, it does not guarantee its accuracy. Therefore, to completely eliminate distrust in official figures, transparency is necessary not only for the technology but also for the data production processes.
Crypto-friendly policies in the Trump administration
President Donald Trump has long been in the news for his crypto-friendly statements. In Lutnick's words, Trump has been referred to as the "crypto president." The administration aims to increase the use of dollar-backed stablecoins, strengthen the reserve currency status of the US dollar, and integrate blockchain technology into government mechanisms. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have recently been working to provide greater clarity on which categories crypto assets should fall into. These regulations are considered an effort to reduce uncertainty surrounding the sector.
Lutnick's Crypto Background
Howard Lutnick was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Trump in February. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of global financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, and is also an active figure in the crypto markets. Cantor provided custody services to Tether, the company behind USDT, the world's largest stablecoin. Lutnick also attracted attention with his statements supporting USDT at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.
