Luke Gromen: Today’s Debt-to-GDP Will Likely Weaken the Dollar

In this interview, Gromen discusses the debt to gross domestic product ratio and the ongoing threat of inflation.

article-image

Luke Gromen, founder of Forest for the Trees LLC; blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • The economy is not growing quickly enough to keep up with inflation, said Gromen.
  • Negative real rates, which occur when inflation outpaces interest rates, are likely to dip lower and continue for some time

Luke Gromen, founder of Forest for the Trees LLC, sat down with Blockworks at the Bretton Woods: The Realignment conference to discuss debt to gross domestic product ratio and the ongoing threat of inflation. 

“We’re now getting into levels that historically, when you talk about the US in particular with debt to GDP at 130%, from which it is very difficult to recover without a weakening of the currency,” said Gromen.  

The economy is not growing quickly enough to keep up with inflation, he explained. Negative real rates, which occur when inflation outpaces interest rates, are likely to dip lower and continue for some time. 

Watch my full interview with Gromen below.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (5).png

Research

Outside of stablecoins, the value of tokenized assets sits below $20B, dominated by the following asset classes: private credit, US Treasuries, commodities, institutional alternative funds, stocks, non-US government debt, and corporate bonds. In the coming months, we see the greatest opportunities in the tokenization of illiquid markets, particularly private equity. However, the successful integration of offchain assets into blockchain ecosystems relies heavily on clear and consistent regulatory frameworks, with purpose-built infrastructure to support it.

article-image

Markets react to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at yesterday’s FOMC meeting

article-image

At DAS, the US president noted he’s called upon Congress to enact “simple, common-sense rules” for stablecoins and market structure

article-image

GDC shows us crypto game developers feel a bit down despite lavish parties and packed crypto side events

article-image

What a Pyth/Morpho/Re7 debacle says about decentralized accountability

article-image

At DAS, VanEck’s Matthew Sigel weighed in on a market that’s “90% flows and 10% fundamentals”

article-image

The first sitting president to address a crypto conference says the US is positioned to “dominate crypto and the next generation of financial technologies”