Pokémon Card Index Outperforms Bitcoin, On-chain Tokenization Accelerates
As of August 7, the Pokémon card index has risen approximately 27.9% this year, while Bitcoin has fallen about 28.8% in the same period. In the top card category, Logan Paul's PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator sold for $16.492 million in February this year, setting a new auction record for trading cards.
Collector Crypt launched a Pokémon Pack priced at $2,500 in June, selling $82.9 million in three weeks, accounting for about 40% of its sales that month. Physical cards are stored in insured vaults, with on-chain tokens corresponding to ownership, allowing for pack opening, trading, and repurchase to be completed in seconds, streamlining the traditional eBay process of finding buyers, authentication, shipping, and settlement.
The Hong Kong-listed company MemeStrategy has established a Pokémon card fund through the licensed platform EVIDENT in Hong Kong, purchasing only PSA 10 "Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat" cards, and tokenizing fund rights for professional investors. The tokens are backed by authenticated, custodial, and insured physical assets, rather than mere JPEG narratives.
In terms of market mechanisms, event-driven narratives for collectibles and RWA (Real World Assets) are emerging. Funds are flowing into tokenized cards and related platforms, benefiting custodial and trading infrastructure, while traditional secondary market intermediaries are under pressure. Improved trading experiences allow previously illiquid assets to gain global distribution and fragmentation capabilities.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Pokémon cards are based on tangible collectible value, achieving 24-hour trading and fragmentation through on-chain tokenization, outperforming Bitcoin in the same period. High-value single card auctions and large-scale Pack sales occur simultaneously, reflecting a resonance between high-end and retail demand. The listed company enters the market in the form of a licensed fund, further incorporating collectibles into a compliant investment framework.
In terms of capital pathways, crypto does not create the value of the cards themselves but transforms the efficiency of their trading and ownership transfer, turning a 30-year collectibles market into a globally distributable financial asset. This is similar to other physical asset tokenization paths, but collectibles are realized faster due to high emotional premiums and standardized authentication. We are currently in a phase where "high-value assets with poor trading experiences" are prioritized for tokenization.
This can be compared to early attempts at fragmenting art and luxury goods, but cards have a higher degree of standardization.
Essentially, this is a reconstruction of the industrial chain. The mechanism lies in separating physical custody from on-chain ownership, eliminating trust and time costs in traditional transactions, allowing attention and capital to price and circulate previously illiquid assets more efficiently.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
- The first to explode in RWA are often the high-value assets with the worst trading experiences.
- Tokens do not create collectible value; they merely turn paper into financial products that can circulate in seconds.
- Sometimes, the assets that outperform Bitcoin are old assets that have been reconnected to liquidity.