Coinbase Is Building a Digital Pokémon TCG Pack-Opening Service

Coinbase teased a digital pack-opening platform on September 28, and the imagery makes it pretty clear Pokémon TCG is the main attraction. A tweet from the crypto exchange showed mockups of five labeled Pokémon card packs numbered 1 through 5, alongside the tagline: "Rip packs on your phone. Every pull backed by a real, physical card. Vault it or ship it. Soon on Coinbase."

The basic pitch is straightforward — users open packs digitally, then either store the cards in a digital vault or have the physical versions mailed to them. Coinbase's replies to comments hint there's more to the service than that, though details are still thin. The company didn't confirm an official Pokémon partnership, pricing, how card grading or proof of ownership would work, or whether packs would be pre-opened before listing. Its self-described identity as "the Everything Exchange" suggests ambitions well beyond a single TCG.

This isn't a completely new concept. GameStop's Power Packs program already does something similar — customers open mystery packs online and receive the physical cards, with options to hold them in a digital PSA vault, have them shipped, or sell them back instantly. Whether Coinbase can match those guarantees, and what role its crypto infrastructure plays in the ownership model, remains to be seen.

The announcement lands right in the middle of Pokémon's 30th Anniversary hype cycle, which has sent demand for cards through the roof. Special anniversary pack drops at Target and other retailers drew massive crowds, with some fans literally placing chairs in line to hold spots. Coinbase is clearly eyeing that frenzy — the question is whether it can deliver a service that's more than just riding the wave.