Stellantis, a parent company of vehicle maker Fiat, launched a crypto rewards program for the drivers of New 500. According to the announcement by the firm, it will enable drivers to earn cryptocurrency for sustainable driving. The initiative is possible thanks to the partnership with Kiri Technologies.
By driving the New 500 electric vehicle, customers will receive rewards in KiriCoins to their wallets in the Fiat app. A special algorithm will analyze driving data and convert it to coins, the source says. After earning their rewards, drivers can spend KiriCoins in the Kiri marketplace.
According to the source, each KiriCoin is worth two euro cents. Moreover, a driver can earn about one KiriCoin per one kilometer of driving. Drivers with the highest scores will be able to access additional reward options from program’s partners, such as Amazon, Spotify, or Netflix vouchers. As the goal of the program is to promote a more sustainable lifestyle, it is possible that it will go into other areas of life and industries, not only automotive.
However, cryptocurrency’s own impact on the environment has been under scrutiny recently. Mining crypto is a process that requires powerful computers and, as a result, consumes a large amount of energy, making the carbon footprint of Bitcoin close to that of a whole country like Argentina.
