Coinbase plans digital Pokémon pulls with real cards behind them

What happened

Coinbase previewed the feature on Sept. 28, telling users they would be able to "rip packs" through their phones and decide what happens to the physical cards they receive. In its own words, customers can open a pack on a phone with each pull backed by a real, physical card, then vault it or ship it. The company gave no launch date beyond saying the product was coming "soon." Promotional artwork showed five Pokémon-themed packs numbered 01 through 05. The first written announcement did not name Pokémon, and Coinbase acknowledged the connection later in a reply to a user.

Coinbase later replied "you get it" to a user who described the feature as pokemon packs on the chain. Several details remain open. The company has not said which sets will be offered, how packs will be priced, where the physical cards will be stored or which markets will get access first. The teaser named no blockchain and did not explain whether individual cards would be represented by tokens. Nor has Coinbase disclosed how ownership will be recorded.

Why it matters

The pitch puts Coinbase into a collectibles business that already has operating players. Gamestop began selling Power Packs to the general public on April 15, 2026, with digital packs that hold physical cards graded by PSA, and its prices run from $25 to $2,500. Blockchain-based versions of the same market are already running. At Courtyard, a physical collectible is held in custody and an NFT represents that particular item, and its marketplace lets collectors buy and sell vaulted items. Coinbase has not said whether it will use the same machinery.

Coinbase frames the card product as part of a wider push to fit more tradable assets into its platform. Responding to a user, the company said it is the Everything Exchange. Coinbase set out that strategy in June, saying it plans to combine crypto, equities, derivatives, prediction markets and other financial products in one ecosystem. Four tokenized U.S. stocks went live on Base in August. Collecting a card and trading one are different propositions, and the announcement left resale features unconfirmed.

What the data shows

• Promotional artwork showed five Pokémon-themed packs numbered 01 through 05.
• Gamestop opened Power Packs to the general public on April 15, 2026.
• Power Packs prices run from $25 to $2,500, covering Pokémon, football, basketball and baseball.
• Collector Crypt had facilitated more than $70 million in Pokémon pack sales by September 2025, including $5 million in a single transaction cycle.
• Courtyard had recorded more than $100 million in Pokémon related volume.
• Renaiss raised $1.5 million in June for infrastructure to bring collectibles onchain through verified custody.

What is still unclear

• Coinbase has not said which sets will be offered, how packs will be priced, where the cards will be stored or which markets will get access first.
• The teaser named no blockchain and did not explain whether individual cards would be represented by tokens.
• The company has not disclosed how ownership will be recorded.
• Resale features were left unconfirmed.
• No launch date was given beyond a statement that the product is coming soon.

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