The onchain trading card market has entered another explosive growth phase in 2026. After setting all-time highs in March and April, blockchain-based trading card gacha platforms now project another record-breaking month in May.
According to data shared by Messari, monthly onchain TCG gacha spending climbed to $148.6 million in March 2026 before rising again to $184 million in April. Current projections place May volume at approximately $211.2 million, which would establish the highest monthly total recorded for the sector.
The surge reflects growing demand for tokenized Pokémon cards and other trading card collectibles that users can buy, trade, redeem, and speculate on through blockchain marketplaces.
Messari Research described the trend as “TCG madness” moving onchain, arguing that the same speculative energy that previously fueled memecoins and NFTs has shifted toward digital trading card ecosystems.
The Numbers Behind the Boom
According to Messari Research, monthly TCG gacha spending reached a record $148.6 million in March 2026, then climbed again to $184 million in April 2026. Those back-to-back all-time highs marked one of the fastest growth periods recorded for onchain collectibles.
The rise has been largely concentrated among a handful of dominant platforms that now control most onchain trading card activity. Collector Crypt currently leads the market in projected May spending volume, but its historical growth has been substantial as well. Dune Analytics data shows the platform has already processed more than $480.9 million in cumulative gacha spending and over $888.2 million in total transaction volume.
Courtyard remains one of the largest players across both gacha spending and secondary marketplace trading. The platform has surpassed $582 million in cumulative gacha spending while generating roughly $952.9 million in marketplace transaction volume. Gross revenue data from Dune further shows that Courtyard has generated more than $140.3 million in revenue.
Phygitals has also emerged as a major contributor to the sector’s expansion. The platform has recorded more than $87.2 million in cumulative gacha spending alongside approximately $171.2 million in marketplace transaction volume.
Data from Dune also shows strong expansion in both marketplace trading volume and secondary market activity over the past year. Weekly TCG volume increased sharply throughout late 2025 and early 2026, while weekly gacha spending reached new highs several times across recent months.
Courtyard and Collector Crypt currently control the largest share of market activity across both gacha spending and secondary marketplace transactions.
How Tokenized Pokémon Cards Work
Tokenized Pokémon cards combine physical collectibles with blockchain infrastructure. Instead of existing purely as digital NFTs, these assets represent real Pokémon cards stored in secure vaults. Each NFT corresponds to a specific physical card that users can later redeem.
Pokémon cards maintain a 1:1 backing ratio between the blockchain token and the physical collectible. Professional grading services authenticate and evaluate the cards before platforms mint them as NFTs.
Once authenticated, operators place the cards into insured storage vaults managed by third-party custodians. The blockchain token then acts as proof of ownership while allowing collectors to trade the asset instantly online.
This structure aims to address several long-standing problems in the physical collectibles market, including shipping delays, counterfeit risk, geographic barriers, and fragmented pricing data. Holders can eventually redeem the physical card by burning the NFT and requesting shipment from the storage provider.
Why Pokémon Cards Became a Crypto Obsession
Several factors appear to be driving demand. The resurgence in Pokémon card popularity has coincided with a broader return of speculative activity in crypto markets. Many traders who previously focused on NFTs or memecoins now participate in tokenized collectibles markets instead.
Messari Research argued that speculative enthusiasm surrounding digital Pikachu and Charizard cards increasingly resembles earlier crypto hype cycles. At the same time, tokenized collectibles attract users beyond traditional crypto traders. Physical trading card collectors can now access global liquidity, real-time pricing data, and instant settlement without shipping cards between buyers and sellers.
The overlap between crypto native users and millennial Pokémon collectors also creates a natural audience for these platforms. Tokenization additionally enables new mechanics that traditional marketplaces struggle to support. Some platforms offer instant buyback programs, while others allow fractional ownership of expensive cards.
Blockchain-based systems also provide transparent ownership histories and verified provenance data, which many collectors value when trading high-end assets.
Gacha Mechanics Continue Expanding Beyond Pokémon
The success of tokenized Pokémon cards has also encouraged experimentation across adjacent collectible categories.
One example emerged this week when BAXUS announced the launch of its onchain whiskey and wine vending machine marketplace.
BAXUS described the platform as a tokenized marketplace where users can spin digital vending machines containing rare bottles of whiskey and wine.
The launch highlights how gacha-style mechanics are increasingly appearing across multiple real-world asset categories, not just trading cards.
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