The Most Valuable Baseball Card on the Blockchain: A Look at the Aaron Judge 1-of-1 Connected Collectible

As baseball season starts up again, activity around MLB trading cards is surging and the hobby is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Topps unveiled “Debut Patches” — physical patches worn by rookies during their first game that get transformed into 1-of-1 cards — and has plans to put pieces of bases from a player’s first hit in limited cards later this year. On the tech side of the hobby, Courtyard is making it easier than ever for collectors to digitize and trade their favorite baseball collectibles.

With Courtyard, collectors can authenticate, vault, and insure their physical graded cards at Brink’s and turn them into connected collectibles that are securely managed on the blockchain. This allows anyone to verify the authenticity of a card and track its ownership history. While vaulted, connected collectibles can be easily bought and sold worldwide without the physical needing to be shipped each time. At any point, whoever owns a connected collectible can redeem the associated physical card and have it shipped directly to their door.

One collector who’s already taken advantage of connected collectibles is the owner of an extremely rare Aaron Judge 1-of-1 autograph rookie card. While one-of-a-kind items of this nature are tough to appraise precisely, the card is currently vaulted and insured for up to $60,000, making it the most valuable baseball card on the blockchain. By turning this physical card into a connected collectible, the owner is making the card more visible and accessible to potential buyers worldwide, and opening up new possibilities for a traditionally static asset.

Usually when someone sells a collectible, the transaction ends there. But when a collector vaults and connects one of their cards and sells it onchain, they not only receive earnings from that initial sale, but also 1% of everytime it trades in the future, until the newest owner decides to redeem the card. Given that everything on the blockchain is always public, bids can roll in on connected collectibles at any time — the owner doesn’t even need to actively have it listed.

As we move further into the digital age, technology is playing an increasingly important role in the global sports trading card market (which is projected to reach $2.5 billion by 2027). With rare cards setting new all-time highs, and tons of modern cards being printed, companies like Courtyard are committed to making the hobby more transparent, secure, and accessible than ever before.

Want to vault and earn 1% passive income on your collection? Ship and vault your slabs for free at courtyard.io.