Daimler wants hardware wallets in cars

Automotive giant Daimler wants to develop a hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies. This should be build into, for example cars from Mercedes Benz. They partnered with blockchain company Riddle & Code to produce the hardware wallet.

The wallet creates a cryptographic identity for each car. The wallet works in cohesion with hardware that gathers car data and information from its surroundings. The technology should make it easier to keep an eye on rental cars, and do fleet management.

Consumers will be able to automatically pay for toll booths, parking places and so on. While they potentially could be paid for providing data.

In the future the technology could provide valuable information to insurance companies. The business alliance between Riddle & Code and Daimler would also help to gather data for self-driving vehicles, car-sharing platforms, real-time traffic data, smart city infrastructures and transfer data about accidents to the authorities.

More blockchain in the automotive industry

Daimler is not the first automotive company to come up with the idea of integrating blockchain in their business. Hyundai wants to pair phones with cars using blockchain technology, while BMW and VeChain will combat fraud. Volkswagen is implementing IBM's supply chain technology to make sure all resources for manufacturing are being obtained in a proper way.

On top of that there are some other companies in the automotive industry that are developing plans very similar to Daimler's blockchain business. General Motors and BMW are part of the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI), which is a consortium that wants to make sure everybody uses the same distributed ledger technology (LDT) across the car industry.

It’s all about combining all kinds of data, from thousands of cars, driving millions of kilometers, mixing data from cameras, sensors, the car itself and other cars in the environment. Blockchain will help companies to share, sell, buy and obtain data, without anybody doubting on who the actual owner of the data is.