PokéStonks: 150% Returns Hand Investors a Trading Card That Beats BTC, Gold and the S&P 500

The CardTrack 100 index, which tracks the combined value of the 100 most valuable Pokémon cards worldwide, has returned 150.7% since its September 2021 base, outperforming Bitcoin ($BTC), gold and the S&P 500 over the same period. The index sits at 251 points, with a combined tracked value of $244,750. A $5,000 investment made four years ago would be worth $12,534 under that performance, compared with roughly $12,390 in gold, about $9,800 in Bitcoin and approximately $8,650 from the S&P 500's roughly 73% return.

The index set an all-time high of 253,800 points on September 29, with the current reading sitting 1.2% below that recent peak. Mainstream recognition has reshaped the market ceiling: a 1998 Pikachu Illustrator card sold for $16.5 million earlier this year, and earlier this week four rare e-Reader cards, including a Skyridge Gengar, fetched a combined $780,000 while a first-edition Charizard reportedly set a new record of $1.38 million.

Industry data points to sustained demand. eBay executives confirmed that Pokémon was the most searched term in the platform's collectibles category during the first half of 2026, and grading firm PSA reports that trading-card games now account for half of its entire business. Scarcity, professional grading and nostalgia continue to draw collectors into a market where rare graded cards are increasingly treated like serious alternative investments rather than toys.