Pokémon cards will likely be used as currency following a global apocalypse, one venture capitalist has suggested.
Pete Levin, founder of VC firm Griffin Gaming Partners, said that the "global phenomenon" of Pokémon trading cards was perfect for use as a new form of currency, should the world's current economy collapse due to some terrible catastrophe.
Levin claims to manage more than $1.6 billion of gaming assets and, handily, also happens to be the owner of some 500,000 trading cards. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he explained that Pokémon cards remained a hugely profitable asset for collectors — and suggested that their worth would also be kept, at least to some degree, even after the nukes fall.
"Pokémon is a global phenomenon," Levin said. "I'm absolutely convinced that if the world suffered an apocalypse tomorrow, the following day the global currency would be Pokémon cards.
"Pokémon cards are beating the S&P 500 by 3,000%," he continued. "Emanating from Japan, it really took hold around the world in the late '90s and early 2000s. It then had a zenith moment and then a nadir moment, and ever since then, it's been on a parabolic growth curve. And that really has driven the international market expansion for trading cards."
Despite being poised to personally profit if we all started to use Charizards instead of loose change, Levin also pointed to a few other reasons he was confident in his prophecy.
For one, card grading companies such as PSA now standardize card quality ratings and provide proof of authenticity. With these, cards have a clearly quantifiable value — even if the price attached to that is left for the market to decide. Then there's the so-called "kidult" phenomenon, where adults now make up around 30% of global toy sales — a figure that's on the rise.
"You've got a generation that has come of age that is nostalgic for these toys, for these vintage video games, for these trading cards and comic books, and they now have disposable income," Levin concluded. "So that's also been a huge tangible driver in the market."
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/if-the-world-suffered-an-apocalypse-tomorrow-the-global-currency-would-be-pokemon-cards-collector-and-venture-capitalist-claims
