Pokémon cards are no longer just childhood collectibles.
Popular trading cards from the 1990s and 2000s are increasingly being treated by some owners as alternative assets, and some of the rarest cards surpass traditional benchmarks such as S&P 500 in recent years.
During key periods like the rise of the pandemic and another surge in 2025, trading card indices that track Pokémon sales posted gains that far exceeded the S&P 500's long-term average annual return of 10% to 12%, according to trading card valuation tool Card Ladder. The comparison isn't perfect—stock market data spans decades, while trends in trading card values are shorter and more volatile—but the outperformance in certain windows is still striking.
The rise in prices is due to scarcity, downsizing and a rise in deep-pocketed buyers chasing a limited supply of top-tier assets.
In the high range, that dynamic is clear. A rare Pikachu Illustrator card owned by influencer and wrestler Logan Paul sold for more than $16 million in February, setting a record for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
“There are certain individuals who try to acquire the rarest, highest quality cards and take them off the market for as long as possible,” said auctioneer Ken Goldin, whose online marketplace, owned by eBayconsigned and sold Paul's rare Pokémon card. “We may never see that card for sale again in our lifetime.”
Rare Pokémon card designed by Atsuko Nishida.
Courtesy: Goldin
That reduction in supply helps explain why prices can rise and why a small portion of the market is driving most of the gains.
The condition of a particular card, which determines its grade on a scale of up to 10, can make or break the value, Goldin added.
“You can have a card with a 10 [perfect score] “And no one cares if the underlying letter isn't important,” Goldin said. “But when you have the right card, the condition becomes critical, especially in Pokémon, where there is a huge premium for a 10.”
That premium can be extreme, Goldin said. A $100,000 card in mint condition appraised by Professional Sports Authenticator, the leading authentication and grading company, might fetch just 1% or 2% of that value in much lower condition.
Aside from the handful of rarer cards, retail investors and collectors are opening their dusty collector books from 20 or more years ago in hopes of striking gold. The card sales boom accelerated during the pandemic as stimulus money and interest in alternative assets surged. Spending on non-sports trading cards, including Pokémon, increased 350% between 2020 and 2025, according to market research firm Circana. At the same time, celebrities such as Post Malone, Steve Aoki and Kevin O'Leary fueled widespread attention.
“We're seeing people use this as an alternative asset and wealth allocation,” Goldin said. “Whether this becomes more institutional over time is yet to be determined.”
But risk remains for hopeful investors in the market. The same forces that drive profits also create risks. Prices are volatile, heavily influenced by hype, and card prices lack the stability and track record of traditional markets.
Still, some highly sought-after Pokémon cards continue to outperform the market.
