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At close · Fri, Aug 14, 2026
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HomeCryptoDeFiDeFi platforms generate $11m monthly revenue from trad…

DeFi platforms generate $11m monthly revenue from trading card NFTs

The onchain marketplaces fueled speculation as users buy and sell NFT versions of collectibles like Pokémon cards and unopened packs.

Decentralised finance platforms are capitalizing on the collectibles boom by turning trading cards into non-fungible tokens, and the model is now producing meaningful revenue. According to data cited by DL News from DefiLlama’s new Pro dashboard, the onchain marketplaces generated a combined $11 million in revenue last month.

These platforms let users buy and sell NFT versions of trading cards and unopened packs, enabling price speculation on assets tied to popular card franchises including Pokémon, One Piece, and sports cards. DL News notes the idea has grown from largely unproven roughly a year ago into a commercially profitable use case.

DL News links the traction to ongoing demand for trading cards, particularly Pokémon, where nostalgia and financial speculation have helped push prices higher in recent years. It also points to supply strain, saying card manufacturers are operating at maximum capacity and still cannot keep up with demand.

DL News further says that, as a result, packs from popular sets often resell above their recommended retail price, which it describes as a driver of investor speculation. In parallel, it cites Card Ladder Index data showing Pokémon cards delivered about a 4,000% cumulative return since 2004, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 513% gain over the same period.

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