The United States government is preparing to publish official economic statistics, including GDP data, on the blockchain in what could become one of the largest adoptions of decentralized technology by a federal agency.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced the plan during a White House Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, telling President Donald Trump:
“The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain because you are the crypto president. And we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain so people can use the blockchain for data distribution.”
On-Chain GDP Reporting Could Reshape Global Market Transparency
According to Lutnick, the Department of Commerce is “ironing out all the details” but expects to expand the blockchain publishing model across other government agencies once the system is in place.
The initiative is designed to enhance transparency, prevent data tampering, and modernize how official statistics are shared with the public, investors, and analysts.
The move comes in the wake of the Deploying American Blockchains Act of 2025 (H.R. 1664), which passed the House of Representatives in June with bipartisan support and is currently under Senate review.
The bill directs the Department of Commerce to serve as the federal government’s lead agency for blockchain policy, advising the president, setting technical standards, and creating a national strategy for the deployment of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.
The Commerce Department’s decision to put GDP data on-chain marks a tangible first step toward fulfilling that mandate. For the first time, U.S. agencies will not only regulate blockchain but also actively use it to distribute public data.
Advocates say the system could reduce opportunities for manipulation, improve efficiency in government reporting, and set a precedent for other countries to follow.
The timing reflects a broader push within the Trump administration to integrate blockchain into government operations. A January 2025 executive order directed federal agencies to accelerate digital asset innovation and develop favorable regulatory frameworks.
Lutnick’s announcement also builds on earlier, unfinished work from Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E. department, which had experimented with publishing government spending data on-chain before the project was abandoned.
Several agencies, including the Treasury Department, the Fiscal Service, and the Department of Defense, are reportedly exploring similar applications. These range from tracking government spending to monitoring parts and supply chains in defense procurement.
By extending blockchain’s immutable ledger to official statistics, the government seeks to ensure public trust in data that shapes everything from market forecasts to fiscal policy.
The initiative has major implications for financial markets. Official GDP releases are among the most closely watched indicators for investors worldwide. Publishing such data on the blockchain would allow instant, tamper-proof access to figures that influence global capital flows, interest rate expectations, and policy decisions.
Industry observers say the system could eliminate discrepancies, reduce the risk of leaks, and provide a single, verifiable source for economic data.
While no firm timeline has been provided, Lutnick emphasized that GDP data will be the starting point, with the potential for expansion to a broader range of government statistics.
As blockchain adoption moves from the private sector into the heart of federal data infrastructure, the U.S. is positioning itself to set new benchmarks for transparency and technological leadership.
Trump Administration Pushes for Regulatory Clarity on Digital Assets
The White House is intensifying efforts to shape U.S. crypto policy, with President Donald Trump’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets urging regulators to clarify federal rules on digital asset trading.
The group, led by David Sacks and created by executive order in January, has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to provide immediate clarity on custody, trading, registration, and record keeping.
It has also pushed for removing bureaucratic hurdles that slow financial innovation and has proposed treating cryptocurrencies as a new asset class under modified versions of existing tax laws.
While the group does not draft legislation, its recommendations have influenced recent measures, including the GENIUS Act, CLARITY Act, and Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. Trump signed the GENIUS Act on July 18, while the other two await Senate review.
The administration has already shifted regulatory posture, with the SEC dropping investigations into firms such as Coinbase and Uniswap and pressing to end the debanking of crypto companies.
In a separate move, Trump signed an executive order allowing Americans to include crypto and other alternative assets in 401(k) and retirement accounts, directing the Labor Department to reevaluate existing restrictions. U.S. retirement assets stood at $43.4 trillion in early 2025, including $8.7 trillion in 401(k)s.
Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced “Project Crypto,” an initiative to modernize securities regulation and move financial markets on-chain. The project seeks to clarify rules on digital asset classifications, create safe harbors for token distributions, and respond to growing demand from Wall Street and Silicon Valley for tokenized securities.
Atkins said the effort reflects a broader push to bring crypto innovation back to the U.S. after years of regulatory uncertainty.
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