Polygon’s trading volume surged this week due to a massive sale of Pokémon NFT card packs. Users eagerly opened their packs on the blockchain, driving up activity.
Buyers did not buy individual cards directly; instead, they acquired “mystery boxes,” which were virtual packs with the possibility of containing any of the featured Pokémon-themed cards. This sale employed a two-phase approach, and all 175 Pokémon Cards were quickly claimed. Courtyard.io played a role in the selection of PSA-Graded cards that were made available on the blockchain.
Courtyard is a digital asset marketplace that offers something different from other marketplaces: it can store your physical assets in a vault through Brink’s, a trusted security company. This is backed by a number of other consumer-trusted brands, including MoonPay and VaynerFund.
The “Stress Test: Break Courtyard.io” sale offered buyers a chance to purchase a pack of virtual Pokémon cards for $5.00 USD. Each pack contained one of the pre-disclosed cards, which could include PSA9 graded cards from 2000 with valuations of around $500.
To buy the Pokémon NFT card packs, users had to create an account and connect their Google account. This automatically created a custodial wallet for them. Buyers could also use their credit cards, instead of cryptocurrency, to purchase the packs.
Courtyard allowed buyers to open their Pokémon NFT card packs 24 hours after they purchased them. Any unopened packs will automatically open after 48 hours. Once the packs were opened, users could export the cards off of the Courtyard platform and into their own self-custody wallet on Polygon.
S4mmy.eth believes that opening a digital pack online may make more sense than opening a physical booster box because of liquidity. This means that it is easier to buy and sell digital packs than physical booster boxes.
