Pokémon Cards Are Becoming a Multibillion-Dollar Market. Crypto Wants to Fix How They Trade

Pokémon cards are becoming a multibillion-dollar market, and the crypto industry wants to fix how those cards trade. Collectors have already spent millions of dollars on physical trading cards, while a number of blockchain startups are now turning physical Pokémon cards into digital assets, according to a CoinDesk report published on Aug. 11, 2026. The report, by Aoyon Ashraf and edited by Cheyenne Ligon, says the harder task is creating enough liquidity to compete with established marketplaces. In other words, the challenge isn't just putting cards on a blockchain — it's building the kind of deep, active trading environment that collectors can reasonably rely on when they decide where to buy and sell. The piece appears in CoinDesk's business section and is based on the observation that card collecting has grown big enough to attract crypto-focused startups. It does not name individual startups or platforms, and it does not provide specific sales figures beyond the broad description of a multibillion-dollar market and millions spent by collectors.