Blockchain startups are tokenizing physical Pokémon cards as digital assets to improve trading in the multibillion-dollar collectibles market.
RWA & Tokenization ·
The Pokémon trading card market, valued at roughly $10 billion to $15 billion, has drawn mainstream retail attention and alternative-asset appeal. eBay recorded $2.62 billion in card sales in 2025, while major chains including Target and Walmart have expanded inventory and imposed purchase caps to manage demand. High-profile transactions—including a $16.5 million sale of a Pikachu Illustrator card—have amplified investor interest, and trading cards have outperformed both the S&P 500 and bitcoin in recent performance.
Blockchain startups are positioning tokenization as a solution to the market's infrastructure gaps. Projects like ATH Labs' Deadstock aim to convert high-grade physical cards into blockchain-based digital assets stored in vaults, seeking to improve liquidity and speed in a fragmented ecosystem historically dominated by local dealers, card shops, and conventions. The underlying bet is that modernizing settlement and custody could unlock trading efficiency.
Whether crypto infrastructure can overcome the network-effect advantages and liquidity depth of established platforms remains uncertain. Incumbents like eBay have already captured scale, and the tokenized market must demonstrate competitive advantages in both transaction speed and user adoption to meaningfully reshape how cards trade.