By CCN.com: Jaguar Land Rover has caught crypto fever. The UK-based company is teaming up with the IOTA Foundation for an initiative that will catapult cryptocurrencies into the limelight.

Jaguar Land Rover is testing smart wallet technology that will incentive drivers to earn crypto while driving. It sounds like a commuter’s dream come true. Drivers earn crypto rewards in exchange for sharing data surrounding “useful road [conditions]…such as traffic congestion or potholes.” That is if you don’t mind sharing information in real-time while you’re on the road. The information is sent to “navigation providers or local authorities.” That is the price you pay for helping to slash the carbon footprint left by otherwise idling vehicles that will take a different route thanks to your heads up.

Those credits can then be directed toward costs ranging from purchasing a cup of coffee on the road to paying tolls, parking meters, and even plugging in at the nearest electrical charging station. The automaker is currently testing the software in Shannon, Ireland. No doubt Elon Musk is paying attention, especially considering that Jaguar Land Rover is making an electric vehicle push.

Cheers and Jeers

The crypto community has begun responding to the development.

BREAKING: Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with IOTA to enable car owners & drivers to earn cryptocurrency. We’re talking digital wallets, tokens, and an entire ecosystem. THE VIRUS IS SPREADING 🚀 — Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) April 28, 2019

Others were more cautious, including Elizabeth Stark of the Lightning Network.

Exactly, the virus of critical vulnerabilities is spreading. 🤣 — elizabeth stark 😷 (@starkness) April 29, 2019

Fck still can't be seen driving a Land Rover though https://t.co/sPEujOHFA8 — Su Zhu (@zhusu) April 29, 2019

Future Autonomous Car

IOTA’s distributed ledger technology kicks in via the smart wallet “to make and receive payments.” In true crypto style, there are no transaction fees attached and as the technology involves, payments will speed up. Jaguar Land Rover Software Architect Russell Vickers stated:

“In the future, an autonomous car could drive itself to a charging station, recharge and pay, while its owner could choose to participate in the sharing economy – earning rewards from sharing useful data such as warning other cars of traffic jams.”

Okay, now we know Elon Musk is listening.

The IOTA Foundation’s Holger Köther stated:

“Our distributed ledger technology is perfectly suited to enable machine-to-machine payments for smart charging, parking, and tolls, in addition to creating opportunities for drivers to earn their own digital currency.”

IOTA the Dark Horse in Crypto

If you’re not yet familiar with IOTA, chances are you will be hearing more about them. They are known for their Tangle distributed ledger technology designed for the Internet of Things (IoT). The open-source tech specializes in machine-to-machine learning technology for data transfer and micropayments, all of the features that the new Jaguar Land Rover will offer. Tangle is supported by the Germany-registered IOTA Foundation.

IOTA is the No. 15 cryptocurrency based on market cap, and the coin shot up nearly 12% in response to the development. This is good news for IOTA investors but also for crypto as a whole. It suggests that coins are beginning to trade on their own positive developments and not only the whims of their larger peer, bitcoin.