bpost will issue Belgium’s first-ever Crypto stamp later this year in collaboration with Austria’s Österreichische Post, PostNL in the Netherlands and POST Luxembourg. The stamp will go on sale in bpost’s eShop on 21 October 2024. This underscores bpost’s commitment to constant innovation.
In one of the most anticipated philately events of the year at bpost, this October sees the issue of the first Crypto stamp in Belgium. But what is a Crypto stamp actually? At first glance, bpost’s Crypto stamp looks like any other self-adhesive stamp. It can be used to frank mail with value 3 World (non-standard mail up to 100g for the rest of the world). But there are two parts to a Crypto stamp: the physical stamp and its digital twin, a limited edition NFT (non-fungible token), which is stored on a blockchain and can be registered, collected and traded online.
International collaboration
bpost has joined forces with Österreichische Post, PostNL and POST Luxembourg on the issue. The Austrian postal service is a trailblazer in the field, having issued the first Crypto stamps in 2019. A joint issue with PostNL – the Dutch post service’s first NFT stamp – followed in September 2022. POST Luxembourg joined them for their next Crypto stamp issue in October 2023. These initiatives were an immediate success. This year’s Crypto stamp is another joint issue.
The belgian visual will be unveiled throughout September, along with more details about this physical/digital set, including how to buy one.
Chris Peeters, CEO bpostgroup: “We are delighted to present our first Crypto stamp. By combining philately tradition with blockchain technology, we are offering our customers a new way to collect and trade postage stamps, which is both innovative and secure. This initiative also highlights our strong ties with Österreichische Post, PostNL and POST Luxembourg.”
Maurice Unck, Director MailNL of PostNL, is excited about the new issue: “We are proud to announce the third edition of our Dutch crypto stamp. Nice to, once again, offer our customers a unique collectible and we welcome our southern neighbours with their contribution to this special edition.”
Claude Strasser, Managing director of POST Luxembourg: “After the issuance of our first joint crypto-stamp together with Österreichische POST AG and POST NL last year, we are looking forward to continuing this exceptional collaboration in 2024. And it gives me great pleasure to welcome bpost to our ‘Crypto Stamp Family’.”
Source: bpost