Pos Malaysia launches country's first NFT stamp

KUALA LUMPUR: Pos Malaysia Berhad (Pos Malaysia) today launched its first non-fungible token (NFT) stamps for collectors, in conjunction with the National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations.

The limited edition NFT stamp is redeemable complimentary with every purchase of the #Empatbelas Setem Ku special edition stamp folder set, retailing at RM59.00 each.

Produced through a collaboration between Pos Malaysia and local retail brand APOM, each stamp folder contains one physical stamp sheet of 14 stamps and each one is proudly designed by an artist representing each state in Malaysia, showcasing the uniqueness, culture and pride of the states.

Pos Malaysia group chief executive officer Charles Brewer said that Pos Malaysia was excited to work with APOM on the NFT stamps project, along with 14 highly talented artists.

"Together with APOM, we are proud to offer the opportunity to local artists to showcase their talents not only in Malaysia but globally, as NFTs can be shared or traded internationally.

"Penetrating the NFT market is a significant milestone for Pos Malaysia, as we complement our traditional postal offerings with various digitised services and products, enhancing efficiency and improving the way we connect with customers in the rapidly evolving and digitally advanced world," he said at the launching of #Empatbelas Setem Ku at APOM Suria KLCC here.

Meanwhile, APOM co-founder Chantelle Teoh said that #Empatbelas was APOM's yearly Merdeka-Malaysia Day collaboration project to celebrate the 14 states of Malaysia.

"This year with the support from Pos Malaysia, the 14 selected artists got a chance to re-imagine their state pride on NFT stamps that transcends globally beyond the philatelic community, as well as on the humble physical stamp that has connected Malaysians throughout the years.

"This is a great opportunity for the local talents to showcase their work," she said.

A stamp collector who only wanted to be known as Shum said he came to the store to buy the latest limited edition stamp for his personal collection.

"Today, I come here to buy 15 sets of #Empatbelas stamp collection but manage to secure only 10 as they ran out of stock.

"I've been collecting stamps for about 40 years and I like it because of the beautiful design and the price is justifiable for a stamp collector like me," he told Bernama.

In a statement, Pos Malaysia said it was the second postal service provider in Southeast Asia to produce NFT stamps after Thailand and joined the global postal fraternity of other countries with similar initiatives such as Austria, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands.

The complete set comes with three envelopes, three postcards, a specially designed folder and a user guide for redeeming the free NFT stamp.

A limited number of 3,000 folder sets will be available for purchase, each set allowing collectors up till Oct 31, 2022 to redeem one out of the 14 NFT stamp designs.

-- BERNAMA