The Economic Landscape of TCG in the Crypto Space

Author: Biteye

What? Coinbase is now selling Pokémon cards?

Today, Coinbase teased a new TCG (Trading Card Game) product: users can open card packs directly on their mobile devices, with each card corresponding to a real collectible. Users can choose to continue to hold and trade the cards or redeem them for physical items.

Recently, TCG has gradually evolved from a relatively niche on-chain collectible direction into an independent track.

Now, with leading platforms like Coinbase getting involved, TCG is becoming a new mainstay in the Crypto market.

This article aims to clarify:

Why is TCG the first to emerge? And why is this Gacha business so profitable?

1. Why has TCG suddenly become the new PMF in Crypto?

If we only look at TCG from a Crypto perspective, it’s easy to interpret it as a new round of RWA: putting a Pokémon card into a vault and minting it as a Token.

However, after discussing the "Gacha economy" with some Gen Z individuals, I have reinterpreted TCG: Crypto did not create the demand for cards; it merely tapped into a market that was already quite mature.

The Gacha economy essentially sells IP, scarcity, and community recognition. Limited editions, hidden variants, and blind pulls further stimulate secondary trading. TCG is one of the easiest categories to "assetize" because it already has clear versions, rarity, grading systems, and historical transaction prices.

Before Crypto entered the TCG space, there was already a well-established infrastructure: PSA, BGS, and CGC handle grading, eBay and Cardmarket facilitate trading, and Vault manages custody. On-chain platforms are not recreating this market but are further digitizing already graded and stored physical cards.

For example, with Courtyard, users can store graded cards in Vault, with ownership circulating on-chain. The card can change hands multiple times, but the physical card remains in the warehouse; only the final person who truly wants to take the card needs to redeem it.

This is somewhat like an upgraded version of "Zhuanzhuan": traditional second-hand platforms focus on inspection and transaction trust, while on-chain TCG further separates "physical movement" from "ownership movement".

Thus, TCG is suitable for being on-chain because grading, pricing, and secondary markets are already mature; Crypto merely acts as a catalyst—allowing ownership to flow more quickly.

2. What kind of business is Gacha?

If we only tokenize TCG, it remains a low-frequency trading business. A card sold from one person to another generates a transaction fee for the platform, which is fundamentally no different from traditional marketplace business logic.

What truly changes TCG is Gacha, which alters the frequency of user consumption.

Users spend 50U or 100U to draw once; if they get a card they like, they keep it; if not, they sell it back to the platform and use the money to draw again. The cards returned to the platform can also be reinserted into the prize pool and sold to the next user.

This model essentially combines "blind boxes" with "second-hand recycling": randomness stimulates repeated consumption, and Instant Buyback lowers the exit cost significantly.

For instance, if a user has only 100U, they can draw once and sell back for 90U, then use that 90U to draw again. The funds do not increase, but they can generate transaction volume repeatedly; similarly, a physical card can experience "draw---buyback---reinsert into the pool" and be sold repeatedly.

This is why the trading volume of on-chain Gacha appears exaggerated. According to Blockworks, in July 2026, five major platforms recorded approximately 284 million USD in Gacha activity, of which about 249 million USD returned to users through Buyback.

Rather than viewing Gacha as an on-chain gumball machine, it’s better to see it as a business of: random consumption + instant recovery + repeated inventory turnover.

3. What on-chain TCG projects are currently available?

Currently, the on-chain TCG model has become relatively standardized: physical card custody, digital ownership, Gacha, Instant Buyback, plus a secondary marketplace. The real differences mainly lie in where users come from, the types and quantities of cards, and whether the platform aims to create "Crypto products" or "collectible platforms".

1️⃣ Collector Crypt@Collector_Crypt｜XHunt Rank: 2335

Collector Crypt is currently the largest project in terms of trading volume in the physical card on-chain space, primarily operating on Solana, covering categories like Pokémon, One Piece, and sports cards.

The core product of the platform is Gacha, with different price pools offering about 85% to 93% Instant Buyback.

Collector Crypt's core competitiveness lies in its inventory, liquidity, and distribution channels, which have formed a closed loop, connecting supply, vault, random sales, secondary trading, buyback, and physical delivery.

As of September 29, 2026, DefiLlama reported its trading volume over the past 30 days to be approximately 128.26 million USD, with protocol revenue of about 11.03 million USD, ranking first among similar projects.

💡Participation method: $CARDS has been issued, and there are still quarterly airdrops. The official has clarified that the remaining Community allocation is for rewarding platform users, but the specific formula has not been disclosed. Normal participation in Gacha, trading, and platform usage can accumulate qualifications for future airdrops.

2️⃣ Courtyard@Courtyard_io｜XHunt Rank: 3464

Courtyard is a comprehensive platform for physical collectibles. Initially focused on graded cards, it has now expanded to sports cards, Pokémon, comics, coins, watches, and sneakers.

Users can buy fixed-price Vending Machine packs to randomly obtain a physical asset or directly buy and sell specific assets in the secondary market.

Courtyard has raised 37 million USD and established its own dedicated warehouse for collectibles, thus no longer relying solely on third-party custody, making it easier to expand from cards to high-value categories like watches, coins, and sneakers.

As of now, the trading volume over the past 30 days is approximately 98.29 million USD, second only to Collector Crypt.

💡Participation method: No tokens have been issued yet. Currently, users can earn Points through daily check-ins, opening Vending Machine Packs, completing Weekly Quests, and inviting others. Points can be exchanged for Pack Credits and leaderboard rewards, leaning more towards a membership points system.

3️⃣ Phygitals@phygitals｜XHunt Rank: 2823

Phygitals is a trading platform for physical collectibles on Solana, mainly dealing with Pokémon, One Piece, sports cards, and Yu-Gi-Oh! graded cards.

It resembles a light-asset TCG platform, as it does not rebuild the entire storage system but directly connects to existing warehouses like PSA, Fanatics, and Alt.

Each card drawn corresponds to a real graded card, with the physical card remaining in a professional warehouse; users trade the digital ownership of the card. To cash out, they can list it on the Marketplace or sell it back at about 85% to 90% FMV. If they want the physical card, they can request shipping.

Phygitals' core products, in addition to random pack openings and digital claw machines, also include games like Duels and Drafts. Each draw result is generated by a publicly verifiable VRF, ensuring the probability is verifiable. After drawing a card, users can continue to hold, list on the secondary market, redeem the physical card, or sell it back to the platform at about 85% to 90% of Alt's real-time market valuation.

💡Participation method: No tokens have been issued yet, and the official has not confirmed any token airdrops. Currently, every purchase earns Points, allowing participation in weekly leaderboards and rewards, suitable for accumulating real platform usage records.

4️⃣ Renaiss@renaissxyz｜XHunt Rank: 7257

Renaiss is a physical collectibles platform on the BNB Chain, currently focusing on graded cards from Pokémon and One Piece. Compared to previous projects, it aims not only to do Gacha but to establish the infrastructure for "putting physical cards on-chain".

The core is Vault OS: partner card stores or custody institutions are responsible for verifying and safeguarding physical cards, while Renaiss maps the corresponding card information and ownership on-chain. Once a card enters the system, it can be used for Gacha, P2P trading, or ultimately redeemed for the physical card. The platform is also expanding into pricing indices, APIs, lending, and other Collectibles-Fi products.

According to previously disclosed data from Renaiss, after the Beta launch, over 6,140 cards have been locked, corresponding to over 1.1 million USD in on-chain assets, with over 231,000 registered users; the cumulative scale is approximately 14.31 million USD, of which about 12.16 million USD is related to Gacha and about 2.15 million USD to P2P.

5️⃣ Deadstock@deadstock_app｜XHunt Rank: 145790

Deadstock is a high-end TCG platform launched by ATH Labs, operating on Arbitrum. In September 2026, it completed a 2.5 million USD Seed round led by Bullish Capital.

Compared to other Gacha platforms, Deadstock's biggest feature is that it only deals with PSA 10 cards and establishes a supply chain directly from Japan. The project has reached an exclusive Tokenization partnership with the large Japanese card company JTCC, which provides a continuous supply of Pokémon cards. Each physical card enters a professional Vault and is then generated as a 1:1 Digital Twin on-chain.

Users can purchase random Packs, and after drawing a card, they can continue to hold, list on the P2P market, accept platform Buyback, or directly redeem the physical card.

🌟 In Conclusion

I prefer to view TCG within a larger trend: Crypto is gradually moving from creating on-chain native assets to bringing existing off-chain assets on-chain.

Under the main theme of putting everything on-chain, TCG is likely to become the next asset category to emerge after the tokenization of US stocks. It already has mature pricing, trading, and collecting demands, and once on-chain, it can further enhance liquidity and trading efficiency.

Moreover, TCG is no longer just about the narrative of Pokémon's 30th anniversary. On DefiLlama, leading Physical TCG projects have already generated considerable real income: Collector Crypt's protocol revenue over the past 30 days is approximately 10.33 million USD, Courtyard around 2.17 million USD, and Beezie is also nearing the million-dollar level.

Perhaps by the end of this year or early next year, we will indeed see a wave of market activity belonging to TCG.

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