Coinbase announced on September 28 that it is planning a phone-based service for opening Pokémon card packs, with each digital pack backed by a real, physical trading card. Customers will be able to keep their cards in vault storage or request shipment to their home.
The crypto exchange confirmed the Pokémon connection after initially teasing the product without naming the franchise. The promotional announcement featured five colored packs numbered 01 through 05, though Coinbase has not explained what the color designations represent.
Limited Details Released
Coinbase has not announced key details including pack pricing, pull odds, storage fees, shipping costs, launch date, or which countries will be eligible. The company has also not disclosed whether it will use blockchain technology or NFTs to track card ownership, named a custody provider, confirmed grading standards, or indicated whether customers can resell cards through the service.
A licensing deal with The Pokémon Company has not been announced. Coinbase linked the product to its "Everything Exchange" initiative, which aims to expand the company's services beyond traditional cryptocurrency trading.
Competing Platforms
Other companies already operate similar services. GameStop launched its Power Packs in April 2026, offering physical cards graded by PSA at prices ranging from $25 to $2,500 across Pokémon, football, basketball, and baseball categories. Customers can sell cards back, request delivery, or keep them vaulted.
Courtyard uses non-fungible tokens to represent individual vaulted cards, requiring identity verification and payment of shipping costs and taxes for physical delivery. The platform destroys the token when a card leaves the vault.
Phygitals offers instant buybacks at 85% to 90% of estimated fair market value and uses a cryptographically verifiable random selection process for card pulls.
