Welcome to the Era of Crypto-Stamps

Guest Editorial #1— Introduction to a New Philately

Editorial by Luc Mangin

Since 2019, I have been documenting a silent revolution that is transforming philately. More than 35 postal operators, 500 stamps, over 1,000 NFTs listed in my catalogue: crypto-stamps are no longer an experiment. They are a global reality that I observe, catalogue, and analyze daily.

When I began this documentation work, confusion reigned. What exactly is a crypto-stamp? Fortunately, in 2023, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) established a taxonomy that finally clarifies things by distinguishing three categories:

1. The digital stamp: a stamp issued only in digital format by a designated postal operator.

1. The NFT stamp: a stamp in digital format, with or without a physical counterpart, representing a collectible item on a blockchain

1. The crypto-stamp: a physical stamp with a digital counterpart on a blockchain. The physical stamp retains its postal value and can be used to frank mail, while its digital twin becomes a collectable NFT.

This classification, which I apply daily in my catalogue, distinguishes three very distinct realities. The crypto-stamp is the one that fascinates me the most: this physical stamp with its blockchain counterpart perfectly embodies the convergence I have observed for five years. A tangible object that retains its original postal function, doubled by an NFT that opens the doors to a new world of collecting.

By creating crypto-stamps.org, my goal was simple: to offer an exhaustive and structured vision of this global phenomenon. Country by country, issue by issue, I document this transformation of philately. Because behind each crypto-stamp, there are technical choices, postal strategies, innovations that deserve to be understood and analyzed.

Throughout this series of editorials, I will share my observations, analyses, and reflections on this ecosystem that I know intimately. From pioneering Austria to the latest issues from Liechtenstein and France, from blockchain mechanisms to collecting strategies, from security challenges to future prospects: I invite you on a journey to the heart of digital philately as I live and understand it.