AT&T to explore digital currency payments in motor vehicles

The application called “Vehicle System with System Report Generation and Methods For Use Therewith” was released by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Within this document is a concept for integrating cryptocurrency payments into vehicles, attributed to AT&T Mobility, a subsidiary of the company.

Specific cryptocurrencies mentioned include Bitcoin and Monero, among others. According to CoinDesk, the application goes on to conceptualize what these payments may actually entail, including what are essentially micropayments that occur depending on what happens during a drive.

The submission is AT&T’s second related to the technology. In October 2016, the USPTO released a patent application for a kind of home subscriber server that utilizes a blockchain.