2022-12-23
As of 23 January 2023, the Bank of Lithuania’s e-shop dedicated to the sale of the digital collector coin LBCOIN (lbcoin.lb.lt) will be shut down. Therefore, anyone wishing to purchase the coin or to exchange their tokens have to do so until the said date.
We recommend that clients, who still possess digital tokens and store them in the Bank of Lithuania’s digital token wallet, exchange them for a physical silver collector coin or transfer them to a digital token wallet on the public NEM blockchain* network by the said date. When the e-shop is shut down on 23 January 2023, all digital tokens stored therein will be destroyed.
2.5 years ago, the Bank of Lithuania issued the world’s first digital collector coin LBCOIN, dedicated to the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania and its signatories. The blockchain-based LBCOIN consists of six digital tokens that can be exchanged for one physical silver collector coin. For the first two years, it was necessary to collect a special set of 6 tokens to exchange them for a physical coin, but now, until 23 January 2023, this will be possible by exchanging any 6 tokens. These conditions are provided for in the Regulations on LBCOIN.
The physical collector LBCOIN is silver, in a denomination of €19.18. It is minted at the Lithuanian Mint. The size and shape of this coin resemble a payment card depicting the Act of Independence of Lithuania and its signatories. The Lithuanian flag on the reverse of the coin depicts the national anthem inscribed in a binary code. The obverse of the coin bears the Vytis – the coat of arms of the Republic of Lithuania – incorporated in a QR code which is linked to the e-shop. Its weight of the coin is 36.36 g, quality – proof-like. The physical collector coin and digital tokens were designed by Giedrius Paulauskis.
LBCOIN is the first digital coin issued by a central bank not only within the euro area but across the globe. The coin has garnered a lot of attention at the international level and has helped to promote Lithuania as an innovative country. The issuance of this coin has also allowed the Bank of Lithuania to acquire practical knowledge in the field of digital currencies, and the experience of the LBCOIN project feeds into exploring practical possibilities of the digital euro.
*The NEM public blockchain network is a public, decentralised, business-oriented and blockchain-based platform for the development and accounting of decentralised applications and smart contracts. It allows users to swap or trade their digital tokens with each other on their own agreed terms.