Gambling On Random Pokémon Cards: Onchain Gagcha Hits Record Highs
Users spent a record $324 million on onchain gacha in June, even as Bitcoin hit a 21-month low. The thrill of scoring a top Pokémon card from a random pack is becoming big business.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Onchain gacha spending hit an all-time high in June 2026, despite the crypto market being in a bear phase. The growth of this sector is attributed to the popularity of Pokémon cards and the convenience of tokenization.
Imagine you buy a pack of Pokémon cards, but you don't know what's inside. It's like a surprise gift! Some cards can be worth a lot of money, and people are using special technology to make it easier to buy and sell these cards. It's like a big game where people are trying to get the rarest cards.
Analysis
A $60B Vote of Confidence
The trading card game (TCG) market has grown up around collectibles, with a market valued at $9.2 billion and $15.11 billion by Global Market Insights and Mordor Intelligence, respectively. The cards inside a booster are not created equal, with print run, rarity, condition, and year of release driving prices orders of magnitude apart. A market has grown up around those collectibles, with some cards fetching several hundred thousand dollars. When a card can cost as much as a car, its authenticity and condition have to be assessed, which is what grading is for.
Why Tokenization Matters
Tokenization has plugged into this frenzy by providing a useful service and removing friction. High-profile buyers like Logan Paul have helped push Pokémon cards into the spotlight. The real world trading card market suffers from a problem common to all collectibles markets: the absence of instant liquidity. To sell a card offchain, the owner has to find a counterparty, verify its authenticity and grade, and ship the item. Tokenization has solved this problem by allowing collectors to buy, sell, trade, and verify ownership instantly while the physical asset remains securely vaulted until they want it shipped.
The Road Ahead
The growing popularity of onchain gacha, and of TCG-focused blockchain platforms more broadly, is probably down to several factors. Pokémon cards are the core product for many of these projects, and the franchise is on a roll right now. According to research firm Circana, Pokémon became the most popular toy brand in the US in 2025, with $2.5 billion in sales, up 87% from a year earlier. The interest is not coming from children alone. Wealthier members of Generations Y and Z sometimes prefer cards to expensive paintings. Demand for grading is so high that in June, PSA temporarily suspended card submissions across four basic service levels as it tried to work through a backlog of almost 10 million cards.
Key points
- Onchain gacha spending hit a record high in June 2026, despite the crypto market being in a bear phase.
- The growth of this sector is attributed to the popularity of Pokémon cards and the convenience of tokenization.
- Tokenization has solved the problem of instant liquidity in the collectibles market, allowing collectors to buy, sell, trade, and verify ownership instantly.
- The real world trading card market suffers from a problem common to all collectibles markets: the absence of instant liquidity.
- High-profile buyers like Logan Paul have helped push Pokémon cards into the spotlight.
If the trend of onchain gacha continues, it could lead to a new era of instant liquidity in the collectibles market. This could make it easier for people to buy and sell rare cards, and potentially increase the value of these collectibles.
However, there are also risks associated with onchain gacha, such as the potential for counterfeits and the lack of regulation in the market. If these risks are not addressed, it could lead to a decline in the value of these collectibles.
