The US government has started publishing some of its most important economic data, like GDP, on public blockchains. Commerce Department officials pointed out that it’s not replacing the usual ways of sharing the data, but it is adding a new one, as per a report.
Here’s what that actually means, why it matters, and what it indicates about the Trump administration’s goals.
On Thursday, the US Commerce Department began posting official GDP data on nine public blockchains, according to a Bloomberg report:
The Commerce Department pointed out that it published what it described as the “official hash of its quarterly GDP data release for 2025-and, in some cases, the topline GDP number,” as quoted by Bloomberg.
ALSO READ: Snowflake stock surges over 18% after strong Q2 earnings and positive guidance for next quarter
The Commerce Department’s latest move of adopting blockchain to carry some of its most critical and market-moving economic data indicates the US government seal of approval on the technology that’s increasingly being used for trading everything from money-market funds to stocks, beyond its origins in cryptocurrency, as reported by Bloomberg.
Mike Cahill, CEO of Douro Labs, who has been working with the Commerce Department in this latest effort for about two months, said that, “The entire administration has embraced this,” adding, “With today’s announcement we are now in a world where government data lives on blockchains, and market participants can participate in real time,” as quoted in the report.
ALSO READ: AI Is wiping out entry-level roles! Check if your job is safe or at risk
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick led the push. He’s been a vocal advocate for integrating blockchain into government operations, as per Bloomberg. Earlier this year, he also floated the idea of changing how GDP is reported by removing the impact of government spending, according to the report.
President Donald Trump has embraced crypto more broadly. Once skeptical, he’s now backing the industry publicly, calling himself the “crypto president.” He mentioned the GDP blockchain project during a White House meeting, celebrating the shift in direction.
Under previous administrations, especially former president Joe Biden’s, crypto faced more regulatory skepticism. Now, under Trump, the approach is more aggressive and supportive:
An official told Bloomberg that Crypto exchanges Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini are involved in the Commerce Department effort, and the department used the exchanges to buy cryptocurrency needed to pay for posting transactions on the blockchains, something called “gas.” While, Kraken and Gemini are planning to go public in the coming months, reported Bloomberg.
It marks the first time the US government has used public blockchains to distribute official economic data and is the Trump administration’s latest endorsement of the crypto industry, reported Bloomberg.
It’s a show of confidence in blockchain technology from the highest levels of government and it reflects the growing political power of the crypto industry, which heavily supported Trump’s campaign and backed crypto-friendly lawmakers.
The industry, including Coinbase, invested over $133 million in three super political action committees backing crypto-friendly candidates in the 2024 election, Bloomberg reported, citing data analyzed by OpenSecrets. Even Kraken, Coinbase and others also donated $1 million each to the president’s January inauguration, reported Bloomberg.
Commerce officials have highlighted that Trump’s administration intends to seek to expand the scope of the initiative later, as per the Bloomberg report.
Even Lutnick had hinted earlier this week that crypto could be used to disseminate far more than just economic indicators, according to the report.
Lutnick told other federal agency heads meeting with Trump on Tuesday that, “We are going to put our GDP on the blockchain, so people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we’re going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it,” as quoted by Bloomberg.
Is the government replacing traditional GDP reports with blockchain?
No, this is an additional method, not a replacement.
Which blockchains are being used?
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, TRON, Stellar, Avalanche, Arbitrum One, Polygon PoS, and Optimism.
