Only 5 percent of people own Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, but that doesn’t mean it’s not affecting the rest of us. It’s increasingly obvious that the digital currencies are affecting very real world things, including the price of collectibles like art, cars, and trading cards.
Rudy the Magic Guy, a YouTube personality known for his insights into the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, says that he’s seen the price of the most valued Magic cards jump as a result of cryptocurrency. The game, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, compels players to accumulate cards to build decks they use to compete against other players. The cards are primarily sold in randomized packs or as single cards on the secondary market.
Between 1993 and 1997, Magic released a reserve set of cards that would never be reproduced, creating an instant collectible in the process. “In the last two years specifically, these cards have gone up substantially,” Rudy, who doesn’t use his last name, says. “There were a lot of cards that were $30 cards [a few] years ago, and now they’re $300 to $400.”
Rudy says that customers have told him about converting money made through gains in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into U.S. dollars and using those dollars to buy Magic cards. “There are examples of individuals who made millions in the crypto and they’d chopped off hundreds of thousands and put into Magic cards and graded cards,” he says. Some of the buyers are motivated by nostalgia and a love of the game, Rudy says, but most appear motivated by the perceived stability of the card’s value. Read more