The launch of the first Portuguese crypto stamp "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", says the company led by João Bento, and reported by JN.

The development of the crypto stamp was done in partnership with the Estonian startup Stampsdaq, a company dedicated to cooperation with postal operators around the world, bridging the gap with collectors, say CTT.


“Innovation”


"CTT has maintained, throughout its 170 years as official stamp issuers, an excellent reputation for technological development and artistic innovation", says CTT Philately Director, Raul Moreira.

In other words, "we were the first in the world to issue a stamp in cork, the first to produce stamps in silk fabric, the first to include remotely activated LEDs in the stamps and also the first to insert a graphene sheet in a philatelic block (crystalline form of carbon) where a poem by Miguel Torga was engraved and read through an application".

This bet "is part of our mission to be highly innovative in the stamps we release and we believe this crypto stamp will appeal to both old and new collectors. We chose StampsDaq as a partner for the digital stamp because we share a common vision of the future of philately", concludes Raul Moreira.


NFT


"The NFT are digital files with rarity attributes, which can be comparable to pieces of art with a certain market value, being based on 'blockchain' (a structure that stores transactional records of the general public in the form of databases) to guarantee authenticity and security", explains CTT.

The "Caravela" crypto stamp will be issued with a total of 40,000 copies, with a face value of 9.90 euros: 30,000 in physical format, with its digital 'twin', in NFT, and 10,000 copies exclusively available digitally on the StampsDaq platform.

CTT say that in the physical version, for sale in physical stores and online, the buyer receives a card with the physical seal and a 10-digit numerical code. This code must be entered on the StampsDaq platform to allow digital access to the corresponding NFT stamp.


"The NFT stamp, in digital format, has different levels of rarity and the one that corresponds to the stamp you bought is only known when you access the StampsDaq platform", they say.

In the physical format, there is only the common stamp, but when the associated NFT is redeemed, the collector receives a digital stamp with one of four levels of rarity.

According to the CTT, "there are four categories: common, with 35 thousand copies; rare, with 4,900 copies; super rare, with 99 copies and unique, with only one copy".

However, "the fact that the level of rarity is not known at the time of purchase means that it is not possible to choose the associated NFT, which makes this stamp very interesting both for traditional collectors and for digital native consumers and, naturally, for all those interested in reinforcing their portfolio".