The Pokémon TCG market is absolutely insane right now, with prices rising and falling due to speculation at an unprecedented rate over these last few months. The rise in value of many cryptocurrencies directly correlates with the increase in Pokémon TCG prices, sparking concerns among collectors and long-time enthusiasts.
In the last three months Pokémon TCG prices have spiked 50-150 percent. That kind of rapid price appreciation is bound to attract the interest of both experienced collectors and new investors. For most of them, they’ve only been in the hobby for a year or less. The rate of change in Pokémon TCG prices is much larger than I anticipated.
This wave of new investors has alarmed many about market integrity. Many of these individuals lack experience in the Pokémon TCG market, potentially contributing to erratic price fluctuations and speculative bubbles.
Sealed Pokémon TCG products are becoming harder and harder to come by. Prices for these products have hit shocking levels on the secondary market. That’s because single Pokémon TCG card prices have exploded lately. Even arbitrary promo cards, such as from the Sun and Moon era, have gone up by as much as 880 percent!
"when I'm selling these $25,000 cases, most of the time it's being paid for through Bitcoin, USD stablecoin, or Ethereum" - Alpha Investments
High prices and availability issues further exacerbates the challenge for collectors. To make matters worse, terrible pull rates and rampant scalping have only compounded the challenge. Collectors of Pokémon TCG are in a rocky situation right now. Like most Pokémon Trading Card Game products nowadays, it has become filled with scalpers attempting to buy and resell products at inflated prices.
"The crypto markets are performing very well for people holding various currencies. These people end up withdrawing their profits and spending them on their hobbies, bringing with it the side who see it as another investment" - collectors
