U.S. Treasury is exploring blockchain for payments and decentralized computing

The U.S. Treasury is now working on ways to use blockchain for payments and decentralized computing, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who made the announcement Friday on X.

He reiterated that the move was part of a broader plan under President Donald Trump to make the country a global crypto leader.

“Under POTUS, we are exploring new possibilities in decentralized computing and digital payments to unlock the potential of blockchain technology,” Scott posted.

The U.S. has entered the Golden Age of Crypto.

Under @POTUS, we are exploring new possibilities in decentralized computing and digital payments to unlock the potential of blockchain technology.

So start your companies here. Launch your protocols here. And hire your workers… pic.twitter.com/oKe1eaXRNO

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) August 1, 2025

This announcement came just a day after Paul Atkins, the current SEC Chair, launched a new initiative called Project Crypto. The program is meant to help the agency come up with policy ideas and assist the Trump administration in building a legal system for crypto. Scott also used his post to tell crypto entrepreneurs to “start companies, launch protocols, and hire workers in the United States.”

Scott attacks Biden-era policies and defends Trump’s crypto push

In an op-ed published Thursday in the Washington Post, Scott said innovation “requires balanced, forward-looking regulation.” He claimed that Trump’s actions since returning to office have helped rebuild trust in the crypto industry, which he said was “suffocated” under the Biden administration.

Scott accused President Joe Biden of using regulators to block banks from touching crypto. He also said the former White House tried to “limit or eliminate” Bitcoin mining entirely and allowed former SEC Chair Gary Gensler to target crypto startups with aggressive legal threats.

But since Trump returned, Scott said the message has been different. “We stood at an inflection point in November, and Trump’s victory was a clear message to the world that Americans rejected managed decline and the suppression of innovation,” he wrote.

Scott said that, during his first week in office, Trump told agencies to remove the anti-crypto guidance written by the Biden administration. He also directed them to stop enforcement actions that punished companies just for being in the crypto space.

Scott pointed to the new law signed by Trump—the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, also called the GENIUS Act—as the framework for stablecoin regulation. The law gives dollar-backed stablecoins an official status in the U.S. economy. Scott argued this would turn the U.S. dollar into a digital payment tool that’s “fast, frictionless, and cost-efficient.”

He claimed this would attract global users to the dollar, boost demand for U.S. Treasury bills, reduce borrowing costs, and help keep the dollar as the world’s top currency.

He also brought up the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, which recently passed the House of Representatives. The bill would define which agency—either the SEC or CFTC—regulates specific crypto activities. It uses models from traditional finance to assign responsibilities and would help end years of uncertainty.

Scott warned that if the Senate doesn’t act on the bill, the president’s larger plans can’t be completed. He said the industry needs a proper legal structure to grow inside the country. The former Wall Street star said:

“November 4, 2024, was America’s Hard Fork on digital assets. Since taking office, President Trump has righted the wrongs of his predecessor by fashioning the United States into a crypto superpower.”

As part of this effort, Trump picked David Sacks—a longtime tech founder—as the new AI and Crypto Czar. He also removed top regulators who had blocked crypto innovation and replaced them with people who support the space.

Scott confirmed that several high-profile cases brought by the old SEC have now been dropped. These included lawsuits that had put crypto exchanges and protocols under legal pressure for years.

Scott ended his op-ed by saying, “Regulatory certainty is essential to cementing our status as the crypto capital of the world. Just as essential is executing on the recommendations from today’s report on crypto regulation.”

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