Forget Pokémon: Ethereum-based DeFi Trading Cards Sell For Thousands

Ethereum-based trading cards bearing the name of the largest decentralized finance protocols are going for thousands of dollars on OpenSea.

This summer’s decentralized finance craze, into which investors poured billions of dollars, was more about the memes than the technology. So why not cut to the chase?

Rare Ethereum-based trading cards, or NFTs, representing the creators of top DeFi protocols are on the market for thousands of dollars on NFT marketplace OpenSea. They’re all created by Meme Ltd.

“Kain Legendary,” trading cards minted in the honor of Kain Warwick, the CEO of synthetic asset platform Synthetix, sold out shortly after launch yesterday. One card went for about $12,709.

And that was a bargain: the cheapest of these rare Warwick cards costs $17,789, and listings go up to $37,233. (Of course, this might not reflect their true worth; buyers can accept any bid).

Both the Legendary and Rare @kaiynne $MEME NFT cards sold out almost instantly! The demand for these MEME NFTs just continue to grow at a rapid rate. If you want to add either of these to your collection, your only option is the open market: https://t.co/wBCN3HO8Tr #NFTfarming

— MEME NEWS (@MemeDefi) October 23, 2020

Hayden Adams, the creator of decentralized exchange Uniswap and this summer’s “it” guy, is also on the market. So valuable is Adams, that a rare blockchain-based trading card that bears his name averages $11,468. Yesterday, Warwick bought a full Hayden Adams set for 27.5 ETH (11,375) and gifted it to Adams.

I’ll buy it for you, least I can do. What’s your public address?

— kain.eth (@kaiynne) October 24, 2020

Even more expensive is the “Stani Legendary” card, which represents the creator of DeFi lending protocol Aave. Crypto art collector MaxStealth (who last week spent over $150,000 on Batman NFT art) is selling his for $61,641. No takers yet.

The “Andre Cronje Legendary” card last sold for $31,000 and the “Vitalik Buterin Legendary” card last sold for $33,000. Cronje created DeFi yield bot YFI and Buterin founded Ethereum.