Forget Bitcoin, S&P 500: Pokémon Cards Are Up 28% In 2026 and Beating Them Both

The article argues that Pokémon trading cards have become a surprising outperformer in 2026, rising 27.9% to 28% year-to-date and beating both Bitcoin and the S&P 500. It highlights a growing collectible-asset market estimated at $13 billion to $15 billion, with strong demand reflected in retail and marketplace data: Target trading card sales were up nearly 70% last year, Walmart online card sales jumped 200%, and eBay processed $2.62 billion in card sales in 2025. The piece also notes that crypto platforms are trying to tokenize the market via NFT/vault models, while onchain trading volumes and fees are growing. Overall, the market takeaway is that collectibles are attracting capital as an alternative asset class, though returns may be inflated by survivorship bias in graded-card indexes.