Mashup of Trading Cards and NFTs

While the NBA dove headfirst into NFTs with Top Shot, baseball trading cards came later to the party. But they are now finally joining, as baseball trading company Topps announced it will sell 1,900+ NFTs starting next week on WAX (Worldwide Asset eXchange).

Photo credit: WAX

For those who need a refresher, NFTs (or non-fungible tokens) are unique tokens similar to cryptocurrency but which represent digital assets such as artwork, music, GIFs, and other forms of content. Once you purchase an NFT, that NFT is fully yours to own and control, similar to owning a physical item.

Topps isn’t the first to sell tradeable baseball cards, but it is one of the oldest, founded 80 years ago as a collectibles company for baseball cards. The company, which also earns revenue from selling Bazooka bubblegum and Ringpops, has benefited from the pandemic, as collectibles became a renewed form of investment opportunity. The foray into NFTs is a first for traditional baseball collectibles and its uniqueness may drive further attention to NFTs. Each digital card will not only feature unique digital signatures that cannot be faked, but the artwork itself will also feature motion graphics and nostalgic digital designs.

In another move intended to capitalize on 2021 trends, Topps is planning to go public by merging with SPAC company Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp II. It will be interesting to see how this 80-year-old company will perform as a public entity. 

Read more on NFTs and their potential in our previous stack.