Austrian Post adds NFC to blockchain postage stamp
Austria’s postal service is tapping rising investor interest in cryptocurrency assets with a new stamp it says will be the first to carry an embedded chip that stores information on a blockchain. blockchain stamps
Oesterreichische Post AG’s new issue carries an image of a whale, an allusion to the elusive leviathan in Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, according to a statement on Friday. It’s the third crypto stamp issued by Austrian Post in the last three years and is being introduced amid heavy turbulence in digital-currency markets.
“This opens up a broad new field,” said Stefan Nemeth, the chief product manager at the Vienna-based company. The Near Field Communications chip embedded in the stamps will enable packages to be handled more efficiently, he said.
Post said it’s limiting circulation to 100,000 units of the 9.90 euros ($12.07) stamp. It can be pre-ordered and will be issued on June 21.
Previous crypto issues by Austria’s postal service bore images of unicorns and dogs identified with the Ethereum and Dogecoin digital currencies and were sold out to collectors. It began offering prepaid Bitcoin vouchers in denominations as large as 500 euros in 2017.
“Every Crypto stamp 3.0 has a digital twin that is stored in the blockchain,” Austrian Post explains.
“There it is in the ‘wallet’ that only the owner has at his disposal. If the digital version of the stamp is transferred from one wallet to another, the transaction is fully documented in the blockchain — a clear, digital certificate of authenticity.
“For the first time, NFC technology is also being used on an Austrian postage stamp: the Crypto stamp 3.0 is based on an NFC-supported authenticity check and is cryptographically encrypted.
“If you hold a smartphone with NFC function on the packaging or on the stamp pad, you can tell whether you are holding a real Crypto stamp 3.0 in your hands.
“By reading out the NFC chip, both the authenticity and the digital twin can be revealed.”
“The Crypto stamp 3.0 has a face value of €9.90 and can be used as a standard postage stamp for franking letters and parcels,” Austrian Post adds. blockchain stamps
