GOTTA CATCH ’EM ALL?: Logan Paul’s PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator Card Goes Up For Auction Amid Onchain Controversy!
- Kyle
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
If you want to catch ’em all, it won’t be cheap.
Earlier this week, Logan Paul’s PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card officially went up for auction on Goldin, and the current bid has already climbed past $2 million USD; though the spectacle is not without controversy.
Three years after Paul set a Guinness World Records record by purchasing the world’s only PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card for $5.3 million, he’s now putting the historic collectible back on the block as the crown jewel of what’s being billed as the biggest Pokémon auction in history, timed to celebrate the brand’s 30th anniversary.
“Bidding is now open on Goldin Auctions In 1998, only 39 copies of this card — designed by Atsuko Nishida, the original creator of Pikachu — were awarded to winners of a Pokémon illustration contest,” Paul explained. “The ONLY perfect PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator in the world. One of one. The Mona Lisa of collectibles. The most famous card in human history. I’m selling it with the $75k custom Pokémon chain, and I’ll hand-deliver it to the buyer. Along with other epic TCG lots, this will be the greatest Pokémon auction of our generation (I’ll definitely be bidding on some of the other items.”
With bidding on Paul’s Pikachu just getting started at Goldin, Polymarket predictors are already placing their bets on where the final sale price may land. Traders currently give the auction a roughly 90% chance of finishing above $6 million, while odds are close to a coin flip that it clears $10 million.
While all eyes are on Goldin this month, the auction is not without controversy.
As the Gazette previously reported, on Christmas Eve Paul took to the timeline, with replies turned off, to address concerns surrounding his Liquid Marketplace, a platform that allowed users to buy and sell fractionalized ownership of rare collectibles via the blockchain.
Paul previously tokenized the Pikachu Illustrator card on the platform but says he later bought it back from those token holders. However, according to Paul, many users have been unable to access their funds.
“As you may know, the PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator was previously listed on Liquid Marketplace, where users could purchase tokens that, according to the company, represented fractional ownership interests in the card,” he wrote. “In May 2024, consistent with the platform's terms, I repurchased the card. I paid a substantial buyout amount to the platform, which was intended to be distributed to fractional owners based on their respective percentages. I was informed at the time that the funds had been distributed accordingly. Unfortunately, afterward, the company and some of its principals faced regulatory scrutiny — a process in which I have had no involvement or insight, as it does not relate to me. I recently learned that the platform also experienced operational issues, which affected user access to accounts and funds held on the platform. As a result, many Liquid Marketplace users have been unable to access their buyout proceeds or wallet balances, with no clear timeline for resolution. For those affected and unable to withdraw your funds: Please know that I am actively working with Liquid Marketplace to help ensure these funds can be released in the near future, just as intended when I repurchased the Illustrator in May 2024. Stay tuned for updates.”
At the time of publication, Paul has not publicly posted an update regarding Liquid Marketplace withdrawals or the now up for auction card. The Gazette reached out to Liquid Marketplace in December but did not receive a response.
Everyone can checkout Goldin’s Pikachu illustrator card auction, along with all the other cards on the block here: https://goldin.co/item/logan-paul-personally-owned-1998-pokemon-japanese-corocoro-promo-raretua0w?queryId=eyJxdWVyeUlkIjoiMzA4YjAwYjhmYzFjNWZjZDI2NjRhMjBkNzUzNjc2ZGYiLCJjYXJkSW5kZXgiOjB9
