Will the Mercedes of the Future Come with a Crypto Wallet?

What if you had a cryptocurrency wallet you could drive around in? Carmaker Daimler, that owns Mercedes-Benz among other brands, says that it is working on developing cars that come with a blockchain-powered cryptocurrency wallet pre-fitted.

Per a recent post from Daimler, the automaker says that it has been working with startup partners on a range of new offerings as part of its Startup Autobahn initiative.

Among its latest developments are what it calls the Mobility Blockchain Platform (MBP) for mobility services, which it says is the brainchild of its financial services arm’s Blockchain Factory. Four startups are also working on the project, which is “now set to be implemented.”

Daimler says the MBP is a “decentralized software platform that makes it possible to offer and manage mobility as a service with end-to-end encryption.”

The MBP, says the automaker, features “a ‘Hardware Wallet,’ in essence a digital wallet for cryptocurrency, to give the vehicle a network identity that enables it to handle transactions automatically.”

The wallet has been created by an Austrian blockchain startup named Riddle&Code.

In its own post, Riddle&Code states that Blockchain-certified data will have an increasingly large role to play in future scenarios, helping log location and speed information for “use in case of accidents involving Autonomous Vehicles.”

The startup also claims that its wallet will “automatically settle value and exchange data with charging solutions, smart city systems or parking zones without human interaction.”

The move comes just months after rival automaker Jaguar Land Rover announced a partnership deal with IoT-linked cryptocurrency provider IOTA, which could also see vehicles equipped with “smart wallet” technology.

South Korean business giant and car manufacturer Hyundai has also launched a cryptocurrency – Hdac – through a Switzerland-based subsidiary, and is said to be planning the release of a stablecoin.