US Commerce Department to begin releasing economic data on blockchain

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disclosed on Tuesday that the department will begin publishing its economic data on a blockchain, starting with Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to ensure public access and distribution.

Howard Lutnick reveals plans to launch economic data on blockchain

The US Commerce Department is set to release its economic data on a blockchain, aligning with President Donald Trump's initiative to make America the crypto capital of the world.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the department will issue key statistics on a blockchain, while addressing President Trump as the "crypto President."

"The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the crypto president," Lutnick told Trump.

He added that GDP will be the first data the department shares via a blockchain, making the information accessible to everyone.

"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," said Lutnick.

However, market participants argued that GDP data is already accessible to the general public through current channels.

Although he did not provide any details about which blockchain the department intends to issue the GDP on, Lutnick noted that they are "just ironing out the details" before proceeding.

The plan follows a series of President Trump's criticisms of US economic data in the past few months. Earlier in August, Trump fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), after a monthly jobs report showed that the US economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, weaker than expected.