5 minBusiness
Venture Capitalist Uses 500,000 Pokémon Cards as Hedge Against Debt Crisis
Peter Levin, a 55-year-old venture capitalist, has amassed over half a million trading cards, including 100,000 Pokémon cards, as a long-term investment. With U.S. national debt exceeding $40 trillion and Treasury yields near 5%, he sees collectibles as a tangible alternative asset with strong historical returns.
As the U.S. national debt surpasses $40 trillion and the 10-year Treasury yield approaches 5%, some investors are turning to unconventional assets to protect their wealth. Peter Levin, a 55-year-old venture capitalist and co-founder of Griffin Gaming Partners, has built a collection of more than 500,000 trading cards—including roughly 100,000 Pokémon cards—that he views as both a passion and a long-term investment strategy.
Levin, who has been collecting since the age of four, told Fortune that his lifelong hobby has evolved into a lucrative financial decision. Data from The Washington Post shows Pokémon cards generated a roughly 3,821% return between 2004 and 2025, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 483% gain over the same period. «Once that generation who collected and played as kids have gotten to a place in life where they have disposable income, you know they’re going to make a determination,» Levin said. «Perhaps modern art or bobbleheads or watches isn’t their thing, but trading cards are.»
Levin’s collection is not limited to Pokémon. It includes more than 25,000 comic books and a vast array of sports cards—baseball, basketball, and crossover collaborations like a Dodgers-themed One Piece card. He also owns every Ohtani bobblehead ever produced. While he declines to estimate the total value of his holdings, he noted, «None of my good stuff is kept at home.» His affinity for the cards goes beyond profit. «I love the way they look,» he said. «There are certain cards where I just love the way they look, and I love the quality of the paper.»
The venture capitalist argues that trading cards possess a durability that sets them apart from previous alternative assets like NFTs. «There has been a trend for people—while expanding at the same time with all these bleeding edge technologies—to also kind of circle back to real life experiences. More tangible things, and trading cards are very much that. There’s a stickiness to it. There’s a community to it,» he said. That community spans generations, with each new cohort embracing the format, creating a self-sustaining market.
Levin’s professional life has also absorbed his hobby. Griffin Gaming Partners hosts biweekly competitions and Magic the Gathering gatherings. He attended his 31st Comic-Con this past year and admits to being called «batshit crazy» for his collection of tens of thousands of pins featuring Star Wars, Power Rangers, Hello Kitty, and Nintendo characters. He even told The Hollywood Reporter that Pokémon cards could become a global currency after an apocalypse—a remark he later clarified was a joke, though he maintains that Pokémon’s worldwide recognition and accessibility give it unique staying power. «As a global currency, everybody knows Pokémon, it’s big everywhere. It’s accepted by all cultures and societies, and it’s celebrated and it’s cross generational,» he said.
The Pokémon card market has exploded in recent years. The cards debuted in 1996 alongside the original video games in Japan and initially served as game pieces and collectibles. Over time, rare cards became valuable commodities, with professional grading companies assessing condition and online marketplaces establishing global prices. The biggest surge came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when stuck-at-home enthusiasts returned to the hobby and investors began treating cards as assets. eBay reported that domestic trading-card sales jumped 142% in 2020, while Pokémon card sales specifically soared by more than 574%.
For Levin, the appeal is both financial and emotional. «If you can combine your passion with an investment strategy, or at least a sub-vertical within your investment strategy, why not?» he said. As government borrowing pressures bond markets and traditional safe havens lose their luster, alternative assets like trading cards are drawing renewed attention from investors seeking tangible stores of value.
