Emre Yumlu 
The U.S. Housing Department is discussing using a stablecoin to fund grants and track them using blockchain.
U.S. Department of Housing Considers Blockchain and Stablecoin Use
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is exploring the possibility of experimenting with blockchain and stablecoin for some of its functions.
The department, responsible for overseeing social housing, has discussed using blockchain to track grants so far. This topic was raised through a meeting recording, documents, and three officials.
The idea of paying HUD grantees using stablecoin was also discussed. The experiment was planned to be tested in one of the department’s offices first before being expanded to other offices.
HUD’s Blockchain Experiment Could Be a Step Toward Federal Crypto Use
Two officials stated that HUD’s blockchain experiment could be a trial run for using crypto and blockchain across the federal government.
At a meeting last month, a project was discussed where the Community Planning and Development office, which oversees billions of dollars in grants supporting affordable housing and homeless shelters, would transfer funds to a grantee on the blockchain.
One attendee wrote that the need for the project was “not well articulated,” and a HUD official criticized the plan in a staff memo as “dangerous and inefficient.” They also pointed out that stablecoin payments would add volatility.
In a follow-up meeting, HUD staff offered a more mixed view, with some saying the blockchain project could involve paying grantees with crypto and one official suggesting it could be done with “a stable currency.” Another finance official mentioned that blockchain would be implemented across the agency, starting with the CPD.
However, a HUD spokesperson stated, “The department has no plans for blockchain or stablecoin. Education is not implementation.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at the White House Crypto Summit on March 7, said the government would “put a lot of thought into the stablecoin regime” in an effort to “keep the U.S. dollar the dominant reserve currency in the world.”
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