Pokémon has had a resurgence in popularity over the last couple of years, thanks to new games and a movie franchise igniting a big money surge in the collectibles and trading card market. In fact, Pokémon collectibles are now behaving like a penny stock with a caffeine addiction in the quiet world of collectibles.
Logan Paul, the YouTube star who pivots between boxing and professional wrestling (and whatever else he does), just pumped those markets up once again, selling his rare Pokémon card for $16.5 million, a world record for a piece of cardboard that fits in a pocket.
The buyer was none other than AJ Scaramucci, son of investor, crypto bull, and former White House communications director Anthony “Mooch” Scaramucci. The card in question, as reported by CNBC, was the “Pikachu Illustrator card,” made in 1988. Only 41 of these things exist, making them rarer than a humble hedge fund manager.
Scaramucci’s purchase is a loud declaration that these cards are now a legitimate asset class. Data from Card Ladder confirms the chaos: secondary market sales surged from under $200 million in 2024 to $445.06 million by early 2026.
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And it’s not just this deal. Walmart, reported a 200% surge in trading card sales between February 2024 and June 2025. EBay is similarly feasting, clearing over $2.6 billion in single card sales in 2025 alone.
If this trend of “sign value” continues (a term coined by French sociologist and philosopher Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) to describe the value a commodity holds within a hierarchy of status and symbols) Walmart and eBay are sitting on a gold mine of plastic-sleeved nostalgia.
Scaramucci clearly agrees. He is now embarking on a “planetary treasure hunt” to collect scarce assets. His thesis is simple: high art carries zero clout for the next generation of investors who find more value in a holographic mouse than a dusty oil painting.
Call it “tchatchkemaxxing.”
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