The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is looking into the likelihood of dipping its feet in the rivers of the cryptocurrency industry. According to meeting recordings and materials, the agency may be looking at a trial run with a crypto experiment across the federal government. The discussions have drawn reactions among some people in the department, with most of them concerned about the speculative nature of the assets. The United States Housing Agency may be looking into the use of the asset to pay recipients of federal grants. However, the problem remains the speculative nature of the asset, which in turn translates to heavy price swings. According to reports , the conversation has been centered around using blockchain, the underlying technology that hosts crypto, to monitor HUD grants. While those that are advocating for Blockchain feel like it is better for purposes like that, others feel the primary use of the technology is to aid crypto transactions. United States HUD staffers at loggerheads According to reports, the development has left employees at the HUD at loggerheads, with most of them noting the negative impact. One of the staff mentioned that the move might just introduce another unregulated security into the housing market, noting that it had happened in the past. Another staffer who spoke under the condition of anonymity noted that he didn’t see how the initiative could help the housing market. “I see a lot of ways this could hurt,” said the official. Meanwhile, the discussion at the HUD has been centered around the development and use of a stablecoin, a kind of token often pegged to a real life fiat currency like the US dollar, which reduces its price swings. However, there had been cases where some of these tokens depegged, dropping drastically. According to some staff at the HUD, the blockchain idea is being pushed by Irving Dennis, the new principal deputy chief financial officer of the HUD. Before taking up the job, Dennis used to work at the global consulting firm Ernst & Young, who is also involved in the proposal. An executive from the firm met with HUD executives last month to discuss the idea. Trump administration to bolster crypto industry appeal The crypto industry has found a proponent in the United States President Donald Trump, whose administration is presently recruiting believers in the industry to hold strategic positions in federal agencies. The move had led to several agencies halting investigations into some crypto firms, coupled with the announcement of a US strategic crypto reserve. The White House also held a crypto summit, with leading figures in the crypto industry present at the event. The United States HUD proposal may be a new way for the current administration to push the industry, using blockchain and crypto to monitor the spending and bookkeeping practices of federal firms. It is a move that aligns with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) mantra, which is to cut waste and check how taxpayer dollars are being spent. HUD officials discuss “proof of concept” project According to reports, United States HUD officials held two meetings last month to discuss the blockchain technology proposal. At the meeting, where several attendees from the Community Planning Development (CPD) were present, a “proof of concept” project was introduced. The project, which will be monitored by the CPD, will allow the organization track fundings going to CPD grant recipients and their sub-recipients using blockchain. After the meeting, an official within the United States HUD wrote and circulated a memo, showing displeasure at the idea. “Without exaggeration, every imaginable implementation of this at HUD appears dangerous and inefficient,” the memo read. The agency has never had difficulty tracking spending, making the new technology unnecessary, the memo said. It noted that deploying it will be complicated, time-consuming, and will need extensive training. In subsequent meetings, CPD executives continued to raise concerns, with most of the attendees noting that it could help curb issues of inaccurate information from recipients and would help monitor spending. However, many details were left to be ironed out during the meetings, with the crux of the issue being whether recipients would receive their grants in stablecoin. “You can do it with what would be attached to a stable currency. That would be up to the Treasury, and I think they’re already going that way, for what it’s worth,” one official said. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
