Federal Crypto Adoption: Could Blockchain Improve Government Funding?
According to reports, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering experimenting with using stablecoins and blockchains for parts of its operations. The department in charge of managing social housing has looked into using blockchain technology to track grants, according to ProPublica’s story.
It was also suggested that stablecoin be used to pay a HUD grantee. This may be tested in one department office before being widely implemented in other offices. According to two officials, the HUD blockchain program may serve as a test run for blockchain and cryptocurrency use throughout the federal government, ProPublica said.
HUD’s Blockchain Idea Faces Internal Resistance Amid Stability Concerns
During a meeting last month, the Community Planning and Development office—which manages billions of dollars in grants supporting homeless shelters and affordable housing—discussed a project that would use blockchain technology to track funding to a single grantee. In a staff memo, a HUD official criticized the idea as risky and ineffective, while another meeting participant later wrote that the project’s necessity was not clearly stated. They said that stablecoin payments would increase volatility and that it was needless and complex.
HUD employees’ opinions were further divided at a follow-up meeting. Some claimed that the blockchain project may use cryptocurrency to pay grantees, while one official stated that stable currency could be used instead. Blockchain will be introduced throughout the organization, beginning in the CPD, according to another financial officer. However, according to a HUD official who talked to ProPublica, the agency has no plans for stablecoin or blockchain.
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