In a dramatic — and slightly odd — pronouncement, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick declared on national television that “the Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain.
He added, “We’re going to put 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, so all of you can do it.”
So yeah, Lutnick — who held and attested to Tether’s reserves– doesn’t seem to understand what a blockchain is or how it works.
Troubling? Only if you care about the global financial system.
Read more: Pro-Tether Trump nominee Howard Lutnick to divest Deribit trading broker
GDP on the blockchain?
The Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) website is considered the global gold standard for accurate reporting of national economic data.
Of course, that isn’t enough for the Trump administration and Lutnick, who are keen to cement Donald Trump’s legacy as “the crypto president.”
This will be a godsend for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has already seen individuals fired for correcting data and staff numbers gutted by the likes Elon Musk’s failed DOGE experiment.
I suspect you want an explanation of exactly how the Department of Commerce’s statistics and US gross domestic product (GDP) will be placed on the blockchain?
Unfortunately, that’s a state secret and if you’re even asking it speaks volumes about your allegiances.
It’s important to point out that everyone at Protos was initially unclear as to what GDP on the blockchain actually meant. However, once we were told that it came straight from the mouth of Howard Lutnick, we all collectively realized that it was brilliant.
Read more: What has Trump done for crypto in his first 100 days?
Yes. GDP. On the blockchain.
Let’s walk this through. Gross domestic product is, according to the FRED website, the market value of the goods and services produced by labor and property located in a country.
If putting all of that on “the blockchain” sounds impossible, it’s because it is. But Lutnick didn’t mean putting all US goods and services and property on the blockchain.
He meant putting the freely available data, gathered and distributed quarterly, and easy to find right here, on the blockchain.
Which blockchain will the data be on? Unclear.
Why is this data, which is, again, already freely available and widely distributed, going to be placed on a blockchain at all? Unclear.
What did Lutnick mean when he said “you all can do it” when bringing up GDP on the blockchain? Unclear.
All everybody needs to know is that this is the innovative and important work the “Crypto President” and his stablecoin bestie are working on while tariffing the entire world and increasing the national debt exponentially.
It’s just good to see that this administration has its priorities straight.