Treat Crypto Like a Collectible — Not a Stock

Anyone that has purchased and held onto cryptocurrency in the past few years has surely been frustrated.

Maybe you decided to sell it all and never think about it again. Maybe you’ve purchased more as it’s price has dipped and watched it fall even further.

Holding crypto isn’t for the weak…

It’s not always easy holding stocks, either. Especially if you’re looking to get in early on the next big thing, only to watch it bounce around and never make much progress.

Cryptocurrencies aren’t exactly like stocks, however. They’re more like collectibles.

I’ve gotten very into Pokemon cards this year. If you know me personally, you are probably annoyed about how much I talk about it.

Collecting trading cards comes with it’s fair share of frustration, too. You may value your cards higher than the market does, and after owning them for months or even years, you realize that the market never changed it’s opinion.

And just like crypto or stocks, you can buy in at the wrong time and see the price tumble shortly after making your purchase.

Trading cards trade at a rather steady price, but just like crypto, they have their boom phases.

I regained my interest in trading cards back in 2021 when every asset on the planet was gaining value — thanks to those beautiful stimulus checks.

You remember… stocks went crazy, cryptos went berserk, NFTs became a thing that mattered, and retail shelves with trading cards were wiped out.

It was a great time to sell if you had old cards sitting around. But, like any asset class, the prices eventually got too high and the market settled down.

There was a revival in Pokemon card interest earlier in 2024 when popular cards exploded in value. Umbreon VMAX from Evolving Skies, one of the most popular modern sets, jumped from $500 in January to over $850 by May.

Other cards followed suit. But the market hit its top, and now the Umbreon is selling for $750, which is still a significant gain since the beginning of the year.

Over time, we will likely see the price of that card, as well as others, continue to dip as buyer interest wanes.

Stocks move this way, too, but it’s rare to see price swings of that size within a calendar year.

Funnily enough, the price of Bitcoin tracks fairly well with the price of the Umbreon card. Bitcoin started the year at $42,000, jumped up to $70,000 in May, and now trades at $58,000.

The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, showed a similar rise (it was up 82% on the year by March) but has almost given back all of its 2024 gains. The same can be said for other Pokemon cards that were popular in the spring, like this Beedrill that nearly doubled but has fallen back to its initial price.

It’s certainly possible for stocks to have wild swings like this, but it is not common among the entire asset class like it is for crypto and collectibles. Those two assets are powered more by consumer sentiment than anything.

Stocks, obviously, are heavily influenced by people’s willingness to spend money (invest) as well. But crypto and collectibles are more likely to be looked at as risks, whereas stocks are more often than not seen as a safe haven for money over time.

All of these things are investments, of course, but each come with their own risk. Investing in Microsoft, Nvidia, or Costco is not the same as investing in Bitcoin or the Umbreon VMAX.

Cryptos and collectibles are much more likely to trade sideways or down before having a crazy, short-term upswing. So don’t expect small trickle-ups in value like you would with stocks.

It makes it scary at times. But when times are good, it makes crypto and collectibles a lot of fun.