In line with Trump's cryptocurrency strategy, the U.S. Department of Commerce pilots blockchain to release GDP

The U.S. government began releasing domestic gross domestic product (GDP) data on a public blockchain on Thursday, marking the latest support for the cryptocurrency industry from the Trump administration. According to media reports citing officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce, this initiative provides a new channel for releasing economic data, but is not a replacement.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has put the "official hash" of its quarterly GDP data for 2025 (which in some cases also includes the total GDP) on nine blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, TRON, Stellar, Avalanche, Arbitrum One, Polygon PoS, and Optimism. Meanwhile, decentralized oracle service providers Pyth and Chainlink are also involved, providing data to crypto applications as third parties.

It should be noted that the official hash may refer to the hash value, which is a unique digital fingerprint generated from data using standardized algorithms such as SHA-256 or SHA-3, used to verify data integrity to prevent unauthorized changes. For example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicates that users can find the "official hash" of software files on the NIST website to confirm that the downloaded software has not been tampered with.

Lutnick revealed this change in advance during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, telling Trump that departmental statistics would be released via blockchain, "because you are the crypto president."

The Trump administration plans to seek to expand the coverage of this program in the future. Lutnick stated earlier this week during a meeting with Trump and other federal agency heads that the use of cryptocurrency technology would not be limited to economic indicators. "We want to put GDP on the blockchain so that people can distribute data through the blockchain, and then we will promote this mechanism throughout the government so that all departments can use it."

Media analysis suggests that the U.S. Department of Commerce's adoption of blockchain to host some of its most critical and market-influencing economic data is equivalent to the U.S. government's recognition of this technology. Currently, blockchain is increasingly being used for trading money market funds and stocks, having long surpassed its origins in cryptocurrency.

Industry insiders point out that the entire Trump administration team has embraced this initiative. With today's announcement, we enter a world where government data exists on the blockchain, allowing market participants to engage in real-time.

Trump Fires Director of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The U.S. non-farm payroll report released in early August showed that job growth in recent months was far below previous data. Trump suggested that this data was manipulated for political purposes, although he did not provide evidence to support this claim.

On that day, Trump fired the director of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest shift in the release of U.S. government data occurred weeks after this event. However, officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce stated that the blockchain initiative is unrelated to the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics director.

Officials indicated that the push to release data on the blockchain was driven by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Lutnick. Earlier this year, he also proposed plans to exclude the impact of government spending from GDP statistics. GDP data is released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which is under the Department of Commerce

Evolution of the U.S. Government's Position

For many years, governments around the world have been experimenting with blockchain, some testing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on public networks, while others consider using it to issue digital certificates. In the United States, for example:

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has used the Avalanche blockchain to digitize vehicle ownership certificates.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has also explored using the technology to expedite airport passenger security screening processes.

Earlier this year, spurred by Musk, the Office of Management and Budget established by Trump also explored using blockchain to reduce costs and improve government transparency.

The U.S. government's adoption also reflects the evolution of the crypto industry itself. Years ago, many commercial projects attempting to deploy the technology failed due to a focus on private chains, which were more costly and had greater management disagreements. Under the push from Lutnick, the U.S. Department of Commerce chose to utilize public blockchains like Ethereum, which are run by global computers and rely on volunteer developers to update the software.

According to officials, crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini are also involved. The U.S. Department of Commerce purchases cryptocurrencies through these exchanges to pay for the "Gas" fees required to publish transactions on the blockchain. Kraken and Gemini also plan to go public in the coming months.

Trump Embraces the Crypto Space

Today, the crypto industry has become a political force. Investors and executives leverage well-funded political action committees, similar to the influence of traditional financial industries like banks in Washington.

Trump was once skeptical of cryptocurrencies but has now become an advocate for the industry. The crypto industry has actively donated to Trump's re-election campaign and supported many pro-crypto congressional members. During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to ease regulations to promote the industry's growth.

After taking office, Trump quickly fulfilled his promises. For example, he has created a Bitcoin reserve, as well as a government inventory of cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and Solana. He also appointed pro-crypto regulatory heads and terminated enforcement actions against Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. He has signed stablecoin regulatory legislation, stipulating that the value of stablecoins should be pegged to fiat currency.

The Trump family has also significantly expanded its crypto footprint, engaging in everything from Bitcoin mining to issuing stablecoins. Next week, a token launched by World Liberty Financial, supported by the Trump family, will go live on centralized exchanges.

Trump's positions starkly contrast with those during the presidency of former U.S. President Biden, when U.S. regulators were more skeptical of cryptocurrencies