Forget Bitcoin, S&P 500: Pokémon Cards Are Up 28% In 2026 and Beating Them Both

Bloomberg reported that platforms like Courtyard and Collector Crypt are tackling this by vaulting physical cards and minting NFTs one-to-one against them. 

The model is gaining traction. Onchain Gacha spending hit $290.3 million in July with secondary trading volume reaching an all-time high of $694.7 million that same month, according to Blockworks data. 

Courtyard alone processes roughly $139 million in 30-day volume while Collector-Crypto posts $148 million in annualized fees.

Startup ATH Labs is taking a different approach, locking up exclusive access to Japan Trading Card Center, which it calls the single largest buying stream in Asia. 

That partnership gives its Deadstock platform a continuously replenished inventory pool that Western competitors cannot easily match.

The Honest Caveat

24/7 Wall Street noted that the headline returns carry survivorship bias. Collectibles indexes track only graded, top-condition cards. 

The random $10 pack in a closet has no shot at those returns.

Meanwhile, Milk Road’s Kyle Reidhead put the broader context plainly: stablecoin volumes are down since October and perps volumes are down over 70%

Pokémon cards are winning precisely because they have something crypto is still hunting for — genuine demand from people who actually want the thing.

Photo via Shutterstock