Collectors spent more than $320 million on on-chain card packs in June 2026, over five times the amount from a year earlier, according to Blockworks Research. Most of that runs through platforms like Collector Crypt and Courtyard, where every digital pull is backed by a vaulted physical card you can redeem.

Coinbase wants in on those numbers, and teased its own offering on September 28th of this year.

Digital-only collections are riding the same wave, and on the Xahau network, one just had its first launch.

Three Hours

On September 18, 2026, Xahau Cards opened its first mint, a set titled "Genesis."

... and I wasn't watching from the sidelines. I was buying packs like every other fan, and signing cards as part of the set's initial signer's list.

To top it off, even David Schwartz (a.k.a. 'JoelKatz') contributed to the excitement:

Card Signed By David Schwartz

Beforehand, XRPLWin, the site's creator, and I traded guesses about how fast 5,000 packs would go. Neither of us guessed this fast. The mint opened at about 1:00 p.m. Mountain time, and the public allocation was gone by about 3:50 p.m.

Under three hours, for a first set on Xahau, the new 'smart contract version' of the XRP Ledger.

Xahau Vault

The cards needed a place to be traded among collectors.

Xahau Vault, an NFT marketplace run by an entrepreneur known as Cbot, timed its full launch to go live alongside the mint. From the first afternoon, collectors could trade duplicates and hunt the cards they were missing.

As of October 9th, the collection on Xahau Vault had recorded 1,123 on-chain sales and 544,315 XAH in volume, roughly $7,000 to $7,700 at current XAH prices. That works out to about 485 XAH per sale and more than 50 trades per day since the mint.

The Final Close

The public mint ended in under three hours, but one way to mint new packs still exists for a short time. Every holder of a FUZZY NFT on the XRP Ledger was eligible to claim a pack, and that promotion runs until October 19, 2026.

That's why the counter reads 'past the limit':

• Packs dealt: 5,098 of 5,000 planned
• Cards minted: 25,490, at five cards per pack
• FUZZY claims: "I think about 200 Fuzzies claimed one," according to XRPLWin, with 568 left unclaimed at the time
• Late claims: seven more packs claimed after a reminder post this month

If you hold a FUZZY NFT (based on a historical, point-in-time snapshot taken a few days before minting), and haven't claimed yours, the window closes October 19.

Surprising Numbers

Even Xahau Card's small, initial slice of the market has resulted in card values easily reaching into the hundreds - or even thousands - of dollars for signed legendaries.

Large Sale On Xahau Vault

It's this sort of electrifying possibility that drove the sales on the initial mint. If you're lucky enough to score a legendary card, it has the potential of more than paying for an initial outlay, and may even finance further acquisitions leading to a full album ... something only a few people have yet achieved for the Genesis set:

Complete Genesis Set

My Goal

Before the mint, I pulicly stated that I would be happy if I could (somehow) acquire a Hook legendary card, signed by Richard Holland, the chief architect of the Xahau and Evernode networks.

During the mint, in short order, I managed to open a pack with ... you guessed it ... the Hook legendary card! 🤯

I promptly sent it to Richard Holland for his autograph, and he was gracious enough to close the loop on my original goal!

Legendary Hook Card Autographed By Richard Holland

Next Mint

XRPLWin hasn't announced a date or theme for the next set. He has said there will be more, that he has some solid ideas of his own, and that user-submitted ideas from X are in the mix.

What I can promise are good vibes.

If my own afternoon of ripping packs and signing cards is any guide, the next mint will draw the same crowd ... and possibly a bigger one.

X>

Sources

• Xahau Cards: https://xahaucards.com/
• Xahau Cards minting stats: https://xahaucards.com/activity
• FUZZY pack claim: https://xahaucards.com/claim
• Xahau Vault sales: https://xahauvault.com/collections/rCardMi9ZsS5dBMrtZtaDeZchvW64W38c/xahaucards-genesis
• On-chain card pack spending record (Cointelegraph, citing Blockworks Research): https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/pokemon-cards-as-rwas-gacha-spending-hits-records-as-crypto-sinks
• Year-over-year growth in tokenized card packs (Decrypt, citing Messari): https://decrypt.co/370978/pokemon-cards-surging-crypto-platforms-gambling
• Coinbase pack-opening teaser (Dexerto): https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/coinbase-jumps-into-pokemon-tcg-craze-with-digital-packs-backed-by-real-cards-3413480/
• XAH price (CoinGecko): https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xahau
• JoelKatz (David Schwartz) autographs Xahau Genesis card: https://x.com/FuzzyClawX/status/2101066868761227693?s=20
• Top sale on Xahau Vault: https://x.com/Xahau_Vault/status/2101893202693271696?s=20
• Complete Genesis set achieved: https://x.com/Defi_daemon/status/2101062390594814148?s=20
• Snapshot timing for FUZZY NFT holders: https://x.com/XahauCards/status/2108073920267976951?s=20