Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the US Department of Commerce will release GDP statistics and economic data on the blockchain, although implementation details remain unclear.
The Trump administration continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting the crypto asset industry through the latest move from the US Department of Commerce, as Secretary Howard Lutnick publicly announced plans to put government economic data on a blockchain platform.
During a cabinet meeting Tuesday afternoon , Lutnick informed President Donald Trump that his department would begin releasing statistics on the blockchain, emphasizing the move as consistent with Trump’s status as “crypto president.” The secretary said the plan would initially focus on GDP data and could expand to the entire government in the future.
Lutnick explained that the goal is to enable people to use blockchain to distribute data, but the specifics of how that will be implemented remain unclear. The Commerce Department did not respond to requests for clarification on this statement, including the specific blockchain network chosen and the practical benefits of the initiative.
Lutnick’s use of the phrase “on the blockchain” is reminiscent of 2018, when it was a popular marketing slogan in the crypto asset industry, appearing heavily in press releases and headlines. However, the phrase is now less seriously used in the industry due to its ambiguity, as “blockchain” can refer to thousands of different networks from Ethereum to Solana to Algorand to VeChain, each with completely different functions and goals.
Crypto Asset Relationship and Practical Challenges
Secretary Lutnick has deep ties to the crypto industry through Wall Street financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which has ties to stablecoin issuer Tether, the entity behind USDT – the world’s largest stablecoin, and claims to be custody of a large portion of Tether’s U.S. government bond reserves. Cantor is also XEM a multi-billion dollar Bitcoin purchase.
The U.S. Department of Commerce is responsible for many important data collection functions for the federal government, including the census and economic statistics. However, this data is Capital public, making the main benefit of “on-chain” data – openness and transparency – potentially redundant.
