Royal Golden Goat crypto stamps fall foul of island’s fintech law

But the stamps may still appear after Guernsey Post said it was looking at ‘reimagining’ the idea.

The plan was for limited edition stamps to be produced, which would not be for postal use but would have a link to a unique non-fungible token.

NFTs are a digital asset which represents ownership or proof of authenticity of a specific item and can take the form of artwork, music, video or stamps.

Buyers would have received a picture of a billy goat or a nanny goat on the physical stamp, but would find out what their unique NFT looked like by scanning a QR code on the back.

Each stamp would cost £10 and Guernsey Post had produced 15,000.

Guernsey Post had said: ‘We are the first British Isle to produce crypto collectables and it will mark a milestone in our stamp heritage, enabling Guernsey Post to create a link between the physical world of collecting stamps and the digital crypto universe.’

It announced the project in mid-July but pulled it just before launch later that month, citing ‘unforeseen circumstances’.

Guernsey Post chief executive Boley Smillie said this was due to a decision of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

‘Our proposed crypto stamps have been considered to be a virtual asset by the GFSC and that means they would be unlikely to license Guernsey Post for the sale of this type of product,’ he said.

‘Unfortunately, this opinion was not consistent with the legal advice that we received on the matter, but we have chosen to launch the Guernsey goat stamps in a different way.’

The postal utility had been unable to meet the requirements of the island’s Lending, Credit and Finance Law, part of which regulates fintech innovations.

A GFSC spokesman said that the LCF law was brought in to regulate virtual asset service providers, known as Vasps, and was necessary to meet international standards ahead of the island’s Moneyval inspection.

‘The law was also timely as it followed increased scrutiny around virtual assets which, across the world, have seen some high profile failures with associated reductions in the value of the virtual assets,’ he said.

‘This raises questions about the risks involved and their suitability for retail customers.’

Under the law a Vasp can be licensed, but the rules state that the provider must not offer products or services targeted at retail customers, only to wholesale or ‘institutional counter-parties’.

Guernsey Post said it now planned to launch the stamps as a miniature sheet containing two traditional Royal Golden Guernsey Goat stamps alongside ‘a limited edition product’, and these should be released early next year.