The Chainlink network has entered into a landmark collaboration with the U.S. Department of Commerce to deliver official government economic data directly onto blockchain platforms, a move that marks a significant advancement in public data accessibility. As a result, LINK, the native cryptocurrency of Chainlink, rose over 5% following the announcement. The initiative enables real-time access to key macroeconomic indicators such as Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, and Real Final Sales to Private Domestic Purchasers via Chainlink Data Feeds. These metrics are now available across ten blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Avalanche, and Optimism, with updates scheduled monthly or quarterly to align with traditional data release cycles. A total of six data points—covering both absolute values and annualized percentage changes—are being published.\n\nPyth Network was also selected as a partner in the initiative, leading to a nearly 50% surge in its native token PYTH. Pyth will initially provide quarterly GDP data spanning the past five years, with plans to expand to additional datasets in the future. The integration of authoritative economic statistics into decentralized systems opens new opportunities for developers in decentralized finance (DeFi) and other blockchain-based applications. For instance, lending protocols could dynamically adjust interest rates based on GDP trends, while prediction markets might use the PCE Index to generate crowd-sourced inflation forecasts.\n\nChainlink emphasized that embedding trusted government data onchain enhances transparency, efficiency, and interoperability. It enables automated trading strategies, strengthens risk management in DeFi protocols, supports the creation of new digital assets, and powers immutable dashboards with verifiable data. Pyth echoed this sentiment, stating that onchain data distribution improves integrity, accessibility, and composability across financial and enterprise use cases.\n\nThis initiative reflects a broader push by U.S. federal agencies to modernize data infrastructure using blockchain technology. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the Department aims to make economic statistics tamper-proof and more transparent by publishing them on decentralized ledgers. The goal is to set a precedent for other federal entities to follow, thereby establishing a more secure and interconnected system for public data dissemination. Chainlink has also engaged with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and lawmakers to clarify regulatory frameworks and support legislation like the GENIUS Act, reinforcing blockchain’s role in critical data systems.\n\n— news from CoinDesk\n\n— News Original —\nLINK, PYTH News: Chainlink and Pyth Selected to Deliver U.S. Economic Data On\n\nThe native token of the Chainlink network, LINK, surged more than 5% after the network announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce to bring official government economic data onchain, marking a first-of-its-kind effort to bridge public data infrastructure with blockchain applications. \n\nPyth Network was also selected alongside Chainlink, sending its native token, PYTH, up nearly 50% after the announcement. \n\nKey macroeconomic statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis — such as Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) , the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, and Real Final Sales to Private Domestic Purchasers — are now accessible onchain through Chainlink Data Feeds, the company announced in a blog post on Thursday. Six data points in total are being published, including both absolute levels and annualized percentage changes. \n\nThe data is being made available across ten blockchain networks, including Ethereum ETH$ 4,647.03, Avalanche AVAX$ 24.97 and Optimism OP$ 0.7028. Chainlink says the feeds will update monthly or quarterly, mirroring the release schedules of their traditional counterparts. \n\nMeanwhile, Pyth said it will initially offer quarterly GDP data releases going back five years, with expectations to expand the initiative to other economic datasets. \n\nHistoric move \n\nThe initiative, a first for the U.S. government, opens up new possibilities for developers building in DeFi and beyond. \n\nFor example, lending protocols could adjust interest rates based on GDP trends, while prediction markets might incorporate the PCE Index to crowdsource inflation forecasts. \n\n”Bringing U.S. government data onchain unlocks innovative use cases for blockchain markets, such as automated trading strategies, increased composability of tokenized assets, the issuance of new types of digital assets, real-time prediction markets for crowdsourced intelligence, transparent dashboards powered by immutable data, and DeFi protocol risk management based on macroeconomic factors,” Chainlink ‘s blog post said. \n\nBringing economic data sets onto the blockchain also brings efficiency and transparency to data published by the government. \n\n”The integrity of economic data is essential to global markets, and bringing this data onchain opens up new frontiers for transparency, accessibility, and composability across DeFi, enterprise use cases, and public accountability,” Pyth said in its statement. \n\nCrypto in Washington \n\nChainlink and other crypto industry players have deepened their engagement with U.S. policymakers this year after Donald Trump won the U.S. election last year, with the promise to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world. \n\nChainlink had held several meetings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to help clarify how blockchain infrastructure fits within existing broker-dealer and transfer agent rules, as well as other lawmakers to help establish the GENIUS Act, the company said. \n\nBy bringing federal economic indicators onchain, Chainlink is attempting to normalize blockchain as a destination for mission-critical public data — offering transparency and composability that traditional systems don’t easily support, it said. \n\nThe move highlights the U.S. government ‘s push to adopt blockchain technology for public data infrastructure. On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Department of Commerce plans to begin publishing economic statistics — including GDP figures — onchain as part of an effort to expand blockchain-based data distribution across federal agencies. \n\nLutnick said the initiative aims to modernize how official data is shared by making it more transparent and tamper-proof, without disclosing how the government is planning to do so. \n\nHe said the Department hopes to set a precedent for other agencies to follow by moving key indicators like GDP to the blockchain, laying the groundwork for a more secure and interoperable system for releasing government data. \n\n”Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce’s visionary stance on data innovation and willingness to embrace blockchain technology is positioning the U.S. as a world leader in finance. But this is just the first step in a long and high-yielding endeavor to rebuild the data infrastructure of the United States of America,” Pyth said in its statement on Thursday. \n\nRead more: Chainlink ‘s LINK Gains on Joining SEC Crypto Task Force ‘s Tokenization Initiative \n\nUPDATE (Aug 28, 15:00 UTC) : Updates the headline and story throuhgout to add more information about the government wanting to use blockchain for public data infrastructure. Also adds that Pyth Network was selected alongside Chainlink.
