Author: Kunal Doshi (0xResearch)
Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow
Shenchao Introduction: Collector Crypt's token CARDS fell 8% while Bitcoin rose 30%, but on-chain data shows funds are flowing back from stock tokens to the collectibles sector. More critically, the market has completely ignored a catalyst called Ripmart: it could push this project from crypto-native users to the real Web2 consumer market.
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If you've been following my content, you'll know I'm a firm bull on the on-chain collectibles sector, and the best bet in this sector is still Collector Crypt. Bitcoin rose nearly 30% from its low of $63,000, but during the same period CARDS actually fell 8%. Why exactly is that? Is collectibles trading over?
I believe Collector Crypt's current user base consists of Web3-native memecoin and NFT players looking for quick thrills. These people can spend big on gacha machines (and they have), but when the next shiny new toy appears, they'll quickly move their funds over as well. Recently, that new toy has been the explosively popular stock token trading pairs on Robinhood Chain and Solana.
These trades have siphoned funds away from the on-chain collectibles space. You can see that in the week ending August 16, net revenue peaked at $3 million, which was exactly before stock token trading volume began to take off.
Collector Crypt's metrics began to decline just as stock token trading volume climbed, which absolutely cannot be a coincidence. But guess what? The situation is reversing. After three consecutive weeks of decline, Collector Crypt's net revenue has rebounded and delivered two strong weekly performances just as stock token trading volume fell back.
Meanwhile, the team added gacha machines to cater to the growing popularity of Riftbound and Dragon Ball card packs. If you've been to physical card shows, you'll know these two card games have been heating up recently, almost like the high-beta version of this year's Pokemon and One Piece card price rally. I really appreciate the team's ability to respond quickly to market trends; in recent weeks, these two categories have accounted for 8% to 16% of total revenue.
But what is the "aha moment" that will bring Collector Crypt back into the spotlight and drive the next rally? There is one catalyst that has been overlooked by the market, and that is the launch of Ripmart. Almost no one on the timeline is discussing it.
Although not many details have been officially announced yet, clues on the timeline point to a Whatnot-like consumer-facing live shopping app. For comparison, Whatnot has raised $545 million at a $20 billion valuation, which is enough to show how big the live shopping experience has become. Here is my vision of how this model could work.
Ripmart could let users buy card packs from Collector Crypt's sealed inventory, then watch streamers open them live. Users could immediately sell eligible hit cards back to the platform and use the proceeds to buy more packs. The potential advantage over Whatnot is the built-in buyback mechanism, which keeps spending power inside the platform and keeps the pack-opening loop running. This is similar to the existing gacha process, but much more entertaining and focused on sealed inventory.
Pokemon pack-opening livestreams are already very popular in the card community, with accounts like Deep Pocket Monster having 1.7 million followers on Instagram. I myself get addicted to watching pack openings, especially the thrill of seeing someone pull an old pack. Although the specific economic model between Collector Crypt and Ripmart is still unclear, this could allow Collector Crypt to plant deeper roots in the Web2 consumer market, making its trading volume no longer entirely dependent on crypto market liquidity.
CARDS is one of the few tokens on my long-term holding list that I am willing to hold through cycles. My screening criteria are projects that truly create value for users and innovate existing processes. Think about it: a first-edition Charizard recently sold for $600,000 through Collector Crypt's exchange tool, without paying auction houses or eBay at least 10% in market fees.
Within a year, this project's total volume surpassed $1 billion, net revenue surpassed $100 million, it built its own warehousing facilities, and completed integrations with numerous partners.
Making so much progress in such a short time is already very impressive, and Ripmart could bring a new phase of growth to this business. Clear skies ahead. Speaking of pack openings, the Pokemon 30th anniversary booster box went on sale last week, and every pack has a cute Pikachu cover. Friends, open away.
— Kuna
