In June 2019, Austrian Post started selling the world’s first blockchain stamp. The so-called Crypto stamps have been published with 150,000 of such stamps placed in circulation. The stamps have a nominal value of 6.90 € which is (was) also the official selling price.
Though the stamps are normal postage stamps, each stamp also has a digital counterpart. This digital counterpart of the physical stamp can be in five colours, each with a different degree of uniqueness: Red (1,500 pieces), Yellow (10,000 pieces), Blue (20,000 pieces), Green (40,000 pieces) and Black (78,500 pieces).
To celebrate the Stamp Day, the Croatian Post is issuing the first Croatian crypto stamp on 9 September 2020. The stamp has been issued in five categories, with five different motifs depicting various means of transport: a van (60,000 stamps), a train (25,000 stamps), a ship (10,000 stamps), an airplane (4,000 stamps) and a drone (1,000 stamps). Total issued quantity is 100,000 stamps. The stamp has been designed by Ivana Vučić and Tomislav-Jurica Kaćunić, designers from Zagreb. The stamp with face value of HRK 50 (cca. 6.6 euro) has been issued in a souvenir sheet with one self-adhesive stamp on a PVC background.
On June 23, the Posta Faroe Islands’ official website for issuing postage announced that the autonomous region issued its first collection of crypto stamps called Stamps of Maybe in collaboration with VariusSystems.
The stamps in the Faroe Islands’ collection are linked to the local Faroese weather station, Veðurstova Føroya, and use real-time weather data at the time of activation to influence how the digital version of the stamps appears.
On 18 September 2023, La Poste released the first block of 1 stamp for a new collection: the NFT stamps combining a physical format with a digital twin in an edition of 100,000 units. La Poste is the French Postal Service operating in France, Monaco and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
La Poste “physical” stamps are associated with their duplicates registered in the Tezos blockchain. The NFT itself also include edition info, which specify for example, if the edition is a “first-day” edition (purchased at the day of the collection launch).
Germany’s first cryptographic postage stamp was presented on October 28 2023 in Berlin. On November 2, 250,000 blocks of 1.60 euro were released, and also an NFT (non-fungible token) will go into circulation.
This fisrt crypto stamp shows the Brandenburg Gate, generated by artificial intelligence.
It is the beginning of a series called “Historical Buildings”, which can be collected both physically and digitally. As usual, it comes with a Matrix code, which prevents its multiple use and allows it to be tracked.
The first official Crypto stamps were issued in May of 2018 by the National Post Office of Gibraltar. On 11 June 2019, Austria Post released what it claimed to be the world’s first blockchain stamp. Official Crypto Stamps are issued by an authorized postal authority.
A total of 100,000 NFTs minted, representing two NFTs for every Crypto Postage Stamp issued. The NFT artwork comprises a selection of exclusively commissioned iconic images of Gibraltar which will follow the design theme of the Crypto Postage Stamp. The NFT images will be minted with varying levels of scarcity as individual constituents making up a collectible set.
The NFT collection will also include a selection of extremely limited ‘super-rare’ NFTs designed with enhanced value characteristics.
The “Philately Liechtenstein NFT Art-Edition Stamp #1” is the first NFT crypto stamp of Philately Liechtenstein published on September 6, 2021
Liechtenstein Post has issued a new generation of crypto stamps with a SQR code that can be scanned with a smartphone (Android & iOS). This special edition of the Crypto Stamp is imperforate and has 3D holographic printing on the sheet and is limited to 3200 copies with a face value of CHF60.00.
The app for Stamp 4.0 enables users to verify the stamps and check whether they are genuine. Through this check, the stamp is uniquely assigned to its owner and can be deposited in a personal data room (Blockchain technology). The crypto stamp is valid for postage, forgery-proof and interactive.
On October 10, 2023, POST Philately issued the first Luxembourg crypto stamp in cooperation with PostNL and Österreichische Post.
This different stamp is the result of a collaboration between POST Luxembourg, PostNL and Österreichische Post. The new crypto stamp was launched simultaneously in Luxembourg, Austria and the Netherlands, with the lion as a common motif, which varies slightly depending on each country. In Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the lion is part of the national coat of arms.
In 2022, PostNL released the first Dutch crypto stamp, with the bull as its symbol. On 10 October 2023, a new crypto stamp will be published in the Netherlands: the NL crypto stamp 2 – lion. Along with the crypto stamp featuring the lion, PostNL is releasing the NL crypto stamp safe in three variants: the dummy, the bottle and the rainbow.
Poland issues these Crypto Stamps and souvenir sheets to mark the countrys achievements in space research. The space sector is one of the highly advanced and innovative areas that is increasingly important for the national and international economy. The companies which operate there have been growing rapidly for several years. The space sector is represented in Poland by the Polish Space Agency – a partner of the first Polish edition of the Crypto Stamp. The issues presents selected achievements of Polish scientists in the field of space exploration.
Correios de Portugal released the first Portuguese crypto stamp on February 28th 2023, issued in physical and NFT format (non-fungible Token), with exclusive benefits for collectors.
This presentation, under the theme “Sailing to Discover the Future”, reinforces CTT’s role as one of the most disruptive and active postal operators in the development of new products and services in all areas of the company, including philately.
Romanian Posta Română launched the first NFT crypto stamp of a Romanian state entity, in the form of a digital stamp, on the occasion of its 160th anniversary, a limited series of 160 NFTs, symbolizing the age of the Romanian Post.
The starting price for the 10 NFTs was set at EUR 160 for each piece.
On 25 November, Swiss Post launched the Swiss Crypto Stamp – the first stamp of its kind in Switzerland. The crypto stamp consists of two parts. While it is a physical stamp worth 8.90 francs, every crypto stamp also has a related digital image. This digital image shows one of 13 possible designs, is stored in a blockchain and can be collected, exchanged and traded online. With the Swiss Crypto Stamp, Swiss Post is bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds in philately, too.