U.S. Department of Commerce selects Kraken as partner in historic initiative to enhance transparency of economic data

[https://i0.wp.com/blog.kraken.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Blog_Header_1535x700.png?fit=300%2C137&ssl=1] Kraken has been selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce to facilitate a groundbreaking initiative unveiled this morning by President Donald Trump and Secretary Howard Lutnick. The initiative, which will distribute U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) data on nine major public blockchains, marks a milestone in the use of blockchain technology to enhance transparency in economic data. As part of this historic effort, Kraken has onboarded the Department of Commerce as a client and helped the department procure cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), Stellar (XLM), Polygon (POL) and Tron (TRX) — to pay for the transaction fees required for publishing cryptographic proofs of GDP data. By recording hashes of this critical economic information onchain, the Department of Commerce is ensuring that U.S. GDP data is verifiable, tamper-resistant and globally accessible. This sets a new standard for transparency in government reporting. “This is a landmark moment for both our industry and our country,” said Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO. “We commend President Trump and Secretary Lutnick for their vision in bringing this initiative to life,…