In a massive development, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has announced that his department plans to start issuing GDP data on the blockchain. This comes as the Donald Trump administration continues to warm up to the crypto industry and push crypto adoption in the country.
During a cabinet meeting, Lutnick stated that the Department of Commerce will begin issuing its statistics on the blockchain, as Trump is “the crypto president.” He added that they plan to release the GDP data on the blockchain, allowing people to start utilizing the blockchain for data distribution.
The Commerce Secretary further stated that they will make this data available to everyone in government so that they can also emulate this move. Lutnick noted that they are just ironing out the details, suggesting that this move could happen soon enough.
However, he didn’t provide details of the network on which they plan to issue this GDP data. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that this isn’t the first time that a U.S. government agency has considered the use of blockchain technology.
Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), under Elon Musk’s leadership at the time, reportedly explored blockchain for government efficiency, focusing on cost-cutting, transparency, and data security. However, nothing concrete materialized from that.
Meanwhile, this move to publish GDP data on the blockchain represents the latest push from the Trump administration to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world. As part of this goal, the administration is already working on establishing laws that provide regulatory clarity for the industry.
Lutnick is notably part of the president’s Digital Asset Working Group, which worked on the White House crypto policy report. The report made recommendations on how the U.S. regulators can provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry through novel rules that accommodate the uniqueness of blockchain technology.
Following Lutnick’s announcement that his department will issue GDP data on the blockchain, prediction platform Kalshi also drew attention to the possibility of the U.S. Treasury adopting a similar initiative.
Kalshi data showed that there is currently a 21% chance of the U.S. Treasury having transactions on the blockchain this year. This suggests that this is unlikely to happen this year. However, if it does, it could come in the form of tokenized treasury bills, a move which could further boost demand for the U.S. government’s debt.
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