The national mail of Switzerland is working to bridge the gap between physical stamps and the digital cryptocurrency industry by introducing tradable digital stamps.

On Sept. 20, the Swiss Post officially announced the upcoming launch of the "Swiss crypto postage," a digital collectible linked to a concrete stamp issued by the post worth 8.9 Swiss francs.

The Swiss crypto postage stamp will provide a digital representation for a concrete stamp and will be stored on a blockchain. "Each pattern forms a nonfungible token and is stored in the Polygon Blockchain," a spokesperson for the Swiss Post told Cointelegraph.

Buyers will exist able to discover a digital twin of their physical stamp online through a QR code printed next to the physical stamp. The crypto stamp'south prototype volition show one of 13 possible designs and can be collected, exchanged and traded online, the Swiss Post said.

According to a representative for Swiss Post, customers will exist able to exchange or sell their crypto stamps on platforms such as major nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea. "Swiss Postal service only sells the Swiss crypto stamp, trading with it takes place separately from Swiss Mail," the spokesperson added.

The upcoming Swiss crypto stamp volition evidently provide an experience somewhat similar to NFTs, as some of the stamps will have a rare design.

"Some are more mutual, while others are much rarer and more coveted. In that location are 65,000 copies of the almost common digital design, but just l of the rarest. One thing is clear: the Swiss crypto stamp means collecting, exchanging and trading stamps has gone digital, too," the Swiss Post wrote.

Related: First cryptocurrency fund approved in Switzerland

The Swiss crypto stamp will launch in late November, with 175,000 such stamps coming to selected Swiss Post branches on Nov. 25. Co-ordinate to the proclamation, the Swiss crypto stamp will be the first stamp of its kind always launched in Switzerland.

Switzerland is non the first country to experiment with blockchain technology to provide digital stamp collectibles. In May 2022, Austria's post announced plans for incorporating NFC chips in its Crypto Stamp three.0, the third iteration of its limited-edition NFT stamp collectible series. Austria released its first-ever crypto postage stamp in 2022.