Coinbase Teases Pokémon TCG Digital Pack Opening

Coinbase is developing a digital pack-opening service for Pokémon TCG, letting users rip packs on their phone and vault or ship physical cards. Details are scarce.

What if you could rip open Pokémon TCG packs right from your phone and still get the real cards? That's exactly what Coinbase is teasing.

The crypto exchange posted a tweet on September 28, 2026, saying, "Your binder is about to get a major upgrade. Rip packs on your phone. Every pull backed by a real, physical card. Vault it or ship it. Soon on Coinbase." The post didn't name Pokémon directly, but the attached image showed mockups of five Pokémon TCG packs labeled 'Pokémon' with numbers 1 through 5. When fans replied, Coinbase leaned in. One user wrote, "Pokémon packs on the chain, trading cards just hit peak convenience," and Coinbase replied, "You get it." Another said, "STFU, Coinbase is going to partner with and onboard everything on earth," and Coinbase shot back, "Well, we are the Everything Exchange."

So what's the deal? Based on the tweet, you'll soon be able to open digital card packs, then either stash the cards in a digital vault or have the physical versions mailed to you. And Coinbase hinted there's more to come: when a user called the vaulting aspect "the real game changer," Coinbase replied, "And there's more..."

But there are still plenty of unknowns. How will Coinbase handle grading? How will it prove ownership? Will the pulls come from pre-opened packs? We don't have answers yet. It's also worth noting that a similar service already exists without crypto: GameStop's Power Packs program lets you open mystery packs online and receive the physical cards, which GameStop says are "real, authenticated" items you can hold in a digital PSA vault, have shipped, or sell back instantly for store credit. It remains to be seen if Coinbase will offer the same guarantees.

This move comes right after Pokémon's 30th Anniversary celebration, which supercharged the already massive hype around card collecting—and the scalpers who've caused chaos at launches. Remember those long lines outside Target and other retailers for special anniversary packs? Some fans even "reserved" spots with empty chairs. Yeah, it's been wild.

Coinbase jumping into this space shows just how hot Pokémon TCG is right now. But will a crypto exchange be able to deliver a smooth, trustworthy pack-opening experience? And will collectors actually trust it with their cards? We'll have to wait and see.

What do you think? Would you try Coinbase's pack-opening service, or stick with physical packs? Let us know in the comments!