The US government has started to publish data on gross interior products (GDP) on public blockchains, marking the last decision of the Trump administration on Thursday to support the cryptocurrency industry.
Officials of the US Ministry of Commerce have said that this initiative will add a new channel to publish economic data but will not replace existing methods.
By adopting blockchain technology to accommodate some of its most critical and displaced economic data, the Ministry of Commerce effectively places an “approval seal” on technology. Today, blockchain applications extend far beyond their origin in cryptocurrency and are increasingly used to negotiate various assets, including funds and actions of the money market.
In its initial phase, this US government initiative will cover nine blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. The plan consists in storing “cryptographic atmosphere” of data on these blockchains – essentially a tool to check the integrity of the data.
Managers of the Ministry of Commerce mentioned that the administration, led by President Donald Trump, plans to expand the scope of this initiative in the future.
Change of government policy
This change of policy comes just a few weeks after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that employment growth in recent months was significantly lower than the figures announced previously. Subsequently, Trump rejected the chief of the BLS and, without providing evidence, suggested the political manipulation of the data.
Officials of the Ministry of Commerce said that the Blockchain initiative was not linked to the rejection of the director of BLS.
Officials have revealed that the driving force behind the push of the blockchain is the secretary of trade Howard Lutnick. Earlier this year, Lutnick also proposed to revise the methodology for calculating GDP in order to exclude the impact of public spending on the figure. GDP data is published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which operates under the Ministry of Commerce.
Governments around the world have been exploring blockchain applications for years: some have used public networks to test the Central Bank digital currencies, while others have planned to use technology to issue digital identification information.
For example, California Department of Motor Vehicles has adopted the Avalanche blockchain – one of the nine blockchains included in the Data Liberation Initiative of the Ministry of Commerce – to digitize the identification information for vehicle ownership. The American Department of Internal Security has also explored the use of technology to rationalize the processes of airport safety screening.
Earlier this year, stimulated by billionaire Elon Musk, the “Ministry of Effectiveness of the Government” of the Trump administration also sought to use the blockchain to reduce costs and increase government transparency.
The “President of Cryptography”
Tuesday, Lutnick presented this change at a meeting of the White House cabinet, telling Trump that ministerial statistics would begin to be released via blockchain “because you are the” president of cryptography “.
Trump, formerly skeptical about cryptocurrencies, became an industry supporter – during his campaign in 2024, he undertook to reduce regulatory charges hindering its development.
When he took office, he quickly took measures to keep some of these promises: for example, the Trump administration established Bitcoin reserves and accumulated cryptocurrencies such as Ether and Solana; Nomeded convivial agency leaders who have dismissed application surveys against companies like Coinbase Global Inc., the greatest American cryptocurrency exchange; And signed a Stablecoin regulatory invoice-Caps are designed to maintain a stable value fixed to underlying fiduciary currencies.
The involvement of the Trump family in the cryptocurrency has also developed considerably, covering businesses such as bitcoin extraction and stablecoin issuance. Next week, a cryptocurrency published by World Liberty Financial, a company supported by the Trump family, will begin to negotiate on centralized scholarships.
This contrasts strongly with the administration of former president Joe Biden, whose regulatory agencies have generally maintained a skeptical position towards the cryptocurrency industry in recent years.
Cryptocurrency as a political force
The American government’s adoption of blockchain technology also reflects the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry itself. Years ago, many commercial attempts to deploy blockchain technology have failed because they focused on applications using private blockchains – have operated companies that have often had political disagreements, which causes higher costs and higher implementation challenges.
However, under the thrust of Lunick, the Ministry of Commerce has chosen to use public blockchains like Ethereum, maintained by computers from around the world and updated by volunteer programmers.
The officials said that the exchanges of Coinbase cryptocurrency, Kraken and Gemini all participate in the initiative of the Ministry of Commerce. The department bought cryptocurrencies (that is to say “gas costs”) required to publish transactions on the blockchain via these exchanges. Kraken and Gemini plan to make public in the coming months.
The cryptocurrency industry has become a political force with which it is necessary to count: investors and business leaders have an influence through well-funded political action committees, similar to the way in which traditional financial industries such as banking services exercise power in Washington.
The industry provided significant financial support to the Trump re -election campaign and supported several convivial legislators in the congress. According to data analyzed by Opensecrets, the cryptocurrency industry, including Coinbase, contributed more than $ 133 million to three Super Pacs supporting the “Pro-Crypto” candidates in the 2024 elections.
Companies like Kraken and Coinbase also donated $ 1 million each to the inauguration of Trump in January.
Lutnick hinted earlier this week that the potential applications of the cryptocurrency extend far beyond the economic indicators of publication.
During a meeting with Trump and other leaders of the Federal Agency on Tuesday, Lutnick said: “We will integrate the GDP data into the blockchain to demonstrate its role in the distribution of data. Subsequently, we will open this ability to all ministries, allowing you everyone to adopt this approach.”
