In February 2026, a single piece of cardboard sold for $16,492,000. The 1998 Pikachu Illustrator – the only known PSA 10 example of one of the rarest Pokémon cards in existence – was sold by Logan Paul through Goldin Auctions to AJ Scaramucci, who called the purchase the first move in a “planetary treasure hunt” for the world’s rarest objects. It became the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction. Card collecting, long treated as a fringe culture, is now impossible to ignore.
The new is what drives today’s prices: Live-stream ripping has transformed package openings for spectator sports, auctions and secondary markets with advanced data-responsive metrics, new printing methods and communities built around scarcity and authenticity are reshaping the category from the ground up. It is, not coincidentally, the same vocabulary that the bitcoin world has been speaking for years – and the two cultures are beginning to find each other.
A lifelong creator and entrepreneur, Aladdan Flinn grew up tearing open packs of Marvel cards and inventing his own characters. When NFTs were marketed as collectibles while lacking the scarcity of physical cards, he built what he saw as missing: launching in late 2022 and known both as Based Trading Cards and Bitcoin Trading Cards, his company manufactures limited, serialized cards designed to teach the principles of sound money and decentralization.
I sat down with Alladan to talk about where this is going; community-driven commerce, the blurred line between physical and digital ownership, and why bitcoiners keep reaching for trading cards to carry the story of the movement.
BMAG: The trading card industry has changed dramatically over the past five years. What are the biggest trends you see in 2026 that collectors may not have noticed yet? Do you think the market is putting a new premium on verifiable scarcity and authentication – and why is so much changing now?
Over the past five years, we’ve seen the industry explode, cool, and now rise back to the record highs we are at today. A big driver behind this is people who are simply looking for true community – they want the personal interactions with others who share their hobby. But at the same time, people are extremely concerned about the broader economy. As the trading card economy continues to rise, many are looking at the hobby as an alternative investment or even a potential lottery ticket. As for a new premium on verifiable scarcity and authentication, I don’t think there’s a massive, market-wide callout for that yet. However, we are seeing key influencers start to take a stand and ask companies to do better. This is definitely a growing trend right now, but we’re just getting started. I believe there will be much more to come on this front, especially as the market eventually starts to dive.
BMAG: As a company founder, you have built a strong community around Based Trading Cards and its publications. How important is community engagement compared to traditional marketing in today’s collecting landscape?
Right now the space for indie cards is wild. On the one hand, off-the-shelf printing technology like eufyMake allows creators to bypass traditional gatekeepers, which is a beautifully decentralized concept. On the other hand, it creates a lot of holiday preference noise. While printing cards at home is a great way to produce art for collectors, it puts a massive risk of transparency and quick pop-up money that can easily reprint cards and inflate their supply. This introduces real opportunities for fakes and carpet pulling, meaning we are definitely at risk of a hype cycle. There are so many new brands popping up that use AI generated art and rely on influencer hype instead of putting in the hard work of creating a meaningful story. Print-on-demand sets knocked out overnight are a warning sign that we may be hitting a peak. Ultimately, these physical art collectibles only become truly valuable when they archive a history that survives the current trend. Brands that do the work, ensure top quality and honor a deep, globally recognized narrative, as One Piece does, are the ones that will thrive. The rest will wash out when the hype wears off.
BMAG: What types of collectors are entering the space today and how do they differ from collectors who entered in previous generations?
The collector base right now is divided between raw hype and seasoned experience. We have a huge influx of new people running straight towards the loudest trend who easily fall for gimmicks because they haven’t developed a filter yet. In this hobby, just like in crypto, you usually have to live through a painful bear market before you stop buying the hype and start looking at the actual underlying value. The saving grace right now is that old collectors are returning to the space completely renewed. They already know these lessons, and they step up to guide the newcomers. Every historical highlight brings noise, but the return of older collectors is what gives the space its real foundation.
BMAG: Looking ahead, what innovations or changes do you think will have the biggest impact on the trading card industry over the next three to five years? Do you see physical cards and digital ownership converging and what would that mean for collectors?
The real innovation over the next few years is going to come down to what can actually be achieved on cardboard. It’s about how far you can stretch the medium and turn a physical card into a true work of art through complex layers of embellishment and advanced printing techniques. I also expect a big push towards the digital side, but I don’t think NFTs will be the bridge that connects the physical and digital worlds. Instead, I see augmented reality taking over. The digital layer should not be about artificially inflating the economic value of the card. It should be about utility, giving collectors new ways to play, interact and gamify their collections. At the end of the day, the fundamental value will always be rooted in the physical product itself. AR will simply be the tool that lets us experience physical art in a whole new dimension.
BMAG: Based Trading Cards have successfully merged bitcoin culture with physical collectibles. Why do you think bitcoin enthusiasts have embraced trading cards as a way to celebrate and preserve the movement’s history—and where do you see that intersection headed?
Our success stems from the fact that we took the time to build a solid foundation. We didn’t jump out with any gimmicks or try to create artificial hype around the cards. Instead, we took our time and let trust, transparency and true scarcity drive it, applying the exact same short-term preference ethos that defines Bitcoin itself. There is genuine proof of work in every card we produce. When we have pioneers like Michael Saylor or Adam Back, we’re not just using their likeness for a quick trend; we actually get their explicit permission and blessing to create these trading cards. This hobby is the perfect medium because it acts as a physical time stamp. A card proves you were there during the bull market and the bear market and weathered the ups and downs. It proves that you were at the conferences and that you stayed when the tourists left. It’s a tactile way to preserve Bitcoin’s history that can be collected and shared among friends and family, capturing the people, books, companies and artists together as a collective community.
Find the full collection of Based Trading Cards and upcoming releases on their website and follow @based_cards for drop announcements, community events and artist features.
BMAG Card Expo at Bitcoin Asia brings a full trading card floor to Hong Kong this 27-28. August at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Expect card vendors, TCG tournaments, on-site judging, and a museum-quality centerpiece for public display. Vendors and sponsors can find table and partnership details here.
Card enthusiasts on their way to Bitcoin Aisa can use code BMAGHK for a discount on tickets.