Why Pokémon Cards Are the "Anti-AI Trade"

Summary

Andy, founder of the onchain trading-card platform Monster, makes the case for physical collectibles as the 'anti-AI trade' in an era of digital abundance. He details the current trading card bull market powered by gacha platforms, grading backlogs, and institutional inflows, and shares specific long ideas ranging from sealed Pokémon product to Korean promo cards and vintage sets.

• Polymarket scales to $9.4B in World Cup volume and files for regulated FCM margin trading, even as a lawsuit over a disputed BTC market resolution emerges.
• Andy introduces Monster, a platform for opening packs and trading tokenized physical Pokémon and One Piece cards with instant buyback offers and redemption.
• Andy frames collectibles as the 'anti-AI trade': tangible nostalgia and scarce physical assets gain value as AI commoditizes digital content.
• The trading card bull run is sustained by gacha platforms buying millions of cards weekly, PSA's 14M card grading backlog, new collector demographics, and institutional capital entering the space.
• Sealed Pokémon product is a historically smart investment (deflationary supply, set-level diversification, entertainment value) currently overlooked due to the gacha focus on graded singles.
• Korean-language Pokémon promo cards are a non-consensus long-term play because Korea has high Pokémon fandom but limited local print runs.
• Vintage Pokémon Delta Species cards (2003–2007) offer nostalgia for the millennial cohort and should perform well over time.
• Near-term, Andy expects a PSA 10 Charizard to retest all-time highs around $50k–$55k into Pokémon's 30th anniversary.
• Crypto infrastructure provides fraud-resistant payments and lower marketplace fees, giving TCGx-crypto platforms an edge over traditional venues.