Daimler AG joined the open-sourced Hyperledger Project last week, a collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain, in an effort to learn more about the technology. Although, the OEM does not have specific plans to implement blockchain in its operations, the company felt that it was the right time to build up its knowledge.
“Being a part of Hyperledger allows us to collaborate with a global network of experts in order to build the cross-industry blockchain standard for customers, supply chain, digital services, financial services, and financing tools,” Kurt Schäfer, head of treasury at Daimler, said in a statement.
Using blockchain for financing has, of course, a lot of potential for OEMs, agreed Brian Behlendorf, Hyperledger’s executive director. “[Daimler] also manages the flow of billions of dollars every week through its finance operation, interacting with hundreds of other banks, and as that industry goes blockchain, so must someone like Daimler,”
Behlendorf added. Daimler follows Toyota Financial Services, which joined R3CEV LLC’s blockchain consortium last year to explore potential applications of distributed ledger technology in auto financing.