A person holds a Pikachu Pokemon card at a Pokemon store in Nice, France. (EPA)
A person holds a Pikachu Pokemon card at a Pokemon store in Nice, France. (EPA)

Pokemon cards are drawing attention as an alternative investment after posting returns that have outpaced the stock market. One American venture investor went so far as to suggest the cards could function as a global "currency," citing how easily they can be bought and sold anywhere in the world.

Peter Levine, founder and managing director of Griffin Gaming Partners, made the comments in a recent interview, according to the New York Post on Wednesday (local time). "If the world ends on Sept. 11, a Friday, I am fully convinced the global currency the next day will be Pokemon cards," he said. Levine is a collector who owns more than 500,000 Pokemon cards.

"If you go to a trading card shop, or Walmart, Costco or Walgreens, and buy a pack of cards, your odds of pulling a rare, valuable card are not that different from mine," Levine said. He added that this dynamic keeps fueling growth in the Pokemon card market.

The Pokemon card market took off during the COVID-19 pandemic. As retail investors stuck at home began turning their attention to unconventional assets like trading cards, a broader "meme stock" craze also swept through names such as GameStop.

YouTuber Logan Paul is among the celebrities who have poured money into such alternative assets. Five years ago, he set what was then a record price by purchasing a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for $5 million. This year, he broke his own record by selling the same card for $16 million.

The numbers underscore just how extraordinary Pokemon card returns have been. According to data from Card Ladder, Pokemon cards have returned about 3,821 percent since 2004. Over the same period, the S&P 500 index rose 483 percent, while Meta has gained 1,844 percent since its 2012 listing.

The trading card market's growth is expected to continue. The market is estimated at up to $50 billion a year. Analysts expect the market to keep expanding as major entertainment companies, including Disney, move into the trading card business by licensing their popular characters.

The New York Post said that as card values have surged, fans are holding substantial collections, with some collectors comparing the investment strategy to putting money into an individual retirement account or a brokerage account.


bbo@heraldcorp.com