US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has stated that the department plans to issue economic data on the blockchain for further transparency and easier access.

“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 our GDP on the blockchain.”

He added that people can use the blockchain for data and distribution, and they will make it available for the entire government, after the details have been ironed out.

BREAKING: U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick announces that the U.S. will be issuing economic data on blockchain, beginning with GDP data.

The U.S. government is officially embracing blockchain technology.

Economic Data on DLT

The revelation came as Lutnick addressed President Donald Trump in a Cabinet meeting in Washington on Tuesday. It is the latest move from a pro-industry administration that supports innovation and distributed ledger technology, and modernizing data distribution is part of that push.

Before his fallout with Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk floated the idea of running parts of the US government on the blockchain. The move could possibly lead to other economic data, such as key inflation reports (CPI and PCE), being put on the blockchain in the future.

Lutnick said the initiative was made possible through collaboration with the White House’s top adviser on crypto, David Sacks.

The Commerce Secretary also agreed with the President that interest rates need to come down because they’re hurting the economy and American taxpayers. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom Trump has threatened to fire, hinted at easing monetary policy at Jackson Hole last week, resulting in a big crypto market pump.

Lutnick also defended Trump’s move to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, labelling her a “crook” who committed mortgage fraud. Trump took the unprecedented step earlier this week of writing a termination letter to Cook in his latest attack against the central bank and its bosses.

GDP Due This Week

The second-quarter growth annualized gross domestic product report will be published on Thursday. The report will provide more insight into the economy’s growth and incorporate additional data that was not included in the advance estimate.

The latest estimate for GDP from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta for the third quarter is 2.2%, down from the previous quarter.