Bitcoin Stamps
- State
- Verified
- Lifecycle
- stable
- Applies to
- continuous deployment, verify with GET /api/version
- Last verified
- 2026-09-01
- Chain
- bitcoin / mainnet
Source and review
- Owning source
- stamps module, stamp trading service, Counterparty compose routes
- Review window
- 90 days
Full source and verification record
- Owning repository
- bitcoinuniverseio/stampdex (private application source)
- Source path
- stamps module, stamp trading service, Counterparty compose routes
- Applicable release
- continuous deployment, verify with GET /api/version
- Chain and network
- bitcoin / mainnet
- Lifecycle
- stable
- Last verified
- 2026-09-01
- This page
- Edit on GitHub · Bitcoin Universe platform
Bitcoin Stamps store artwork bytes inside Bitcoin transactions. The image does not sit on a server that can vanish. It sits in the chain itself, in every full copy of Bitcoin.
That gives a stamp two properties collectors care about: it cannot be altered, and it lasts as long as Bitcoin does. The file hash printed on a stamp page is the hash of those exact bytes.
How a stamp is issued
Section titled “How a stamp is issued”A stamp is a Counterparty asset. Its identity is a set of on-chain facts:
| Fact | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Stamp number | The position in the stamp index |
cpid |
The Counterparty asset id |
| Transaction hash | The Bitcoin transaction that created it |
| Creator address | Who issued it |
| File hash and size | The exact bytes, and how many |
| Supply, and whether issuance is locked | A locked stamp with supply 1 is one of one, forever |
A collection is curated metadata that groups stamps. Membership comes from the collection index, not from the chain, so StampDEX names the source of collection data on the page.
How a stamp trades
Section titled “How a stamp trades”Stamps trade through Counterparty dispensers. A dispenser is a vending contract: the seller escrows the asset in a dispenser at their own address and sets an asking rate. A buyer sends that amount of BTC to the dispenser address, and when the transaction confirms, Counterparty dispenses the asset.
StampDEX composes the dispense transaction through the Counterparty compose API, converts it into a PSBT your wallet can inspect, and shows you the price, the dispenser address, and the fees. Your wallet signs it.
No StampDEX escrow is involved in a stamp trade. The stamp and the payment change hands in one confirmed Bitcoin transaction. See Where your funds are.
What StampDEX refuses to do
Section titled “What StampDEX refuses to do”If the prevout data needed to describe a transaction’s inputs cannot be recovered, the compose call returns no PSBT and a warning instead. A bare Counterparty transaction with no prevouts is one your wallet could neither inspect nor safely sign, so it is not offered as signable.
Other refusals you may meet, each with its own message: buying from your own dispenser, a dispenser that is no longer open, a dispenser with nothing remaining, a quantity larger than the remaining supply, and a dispenser whose price is unavailable.
Closing a dispenser has a delay
Section titled “Closing a dispenser has a delay”Closing a dispenser does not immediately return the escrowed stamp. Counterparty enforces a close cooldown, so a stamp you have just delisted stays escrowed until that finalizes. Plan around it. See List and unlist a stamp.
What is not available for stamps
Section titled “What is not available for stamps”The ecosystem registry records these as unsupported for Bitcoin Stamps, with reasons:
update-listing: listings must be cancelled and relisted, because no atomic listing update is implemented.make-offer,accept-offer,cancel-offer,sell: there is no executable offer workflow on this marketplace surface.settle,reconcile: this surface has no settle or reconcile authority.
See What you can and cannot do for the full table.