Crypto Twitter has been abuzz with Pokémon cards on the blockchain lately. Within a week of the launch of @Collector_Crypt's $CARDS, FDV soared to $450 million, a tenfold increase in the token price, and daily active trading activity was booming. Even more astonishingly, their "Gachapon Machine" generated $16.6 million in revenue in just one week, leaving the team struggling to restock.
In a recent interview, the CEO of CARDS revealed that their gashapon machine is the only one in the world with a positive expected value. Users invest $50 and receive an average of $55 worth of cards. While some question whether this is a "loss-making business," the CEO explained that CARDS purchases cards at a 15% discount and sells them at a 10% discount, still maintaining a 5% profit margin.
He further pointed out that the current annual trading volume in the card market is approximately $25-30 billion. If the entire trading ecosystem were to be moved to blockchain, eliminating fraud, improving market and auction efficiency, and resolving pain points like transaction settlement, annual trading volume could potentially increase three to fourfold, reaching $100 billion.
