Topps is to debut their Major League Baseball (MLB) Series 1 NFT collection on the Wax blockchain on April 20th. The release will include base cards, iconic throwback designs, motion animated sets, and more. Standard packs will be priced at $5 and contain 6 cards, premium packs will cost $100 and contain 45 cards. These premium packs have a much higher chance of containing rare or legendary cards.
One interesting mechanic is the ability of cardholders to ‘Burn to Earn’. Collectors can burn or trade-in 5 select base cards during a 5-week-long event for a chance to receive exclusive Topps 1952-style cards of modern players. It’s important to note that burning cards doesn’t guarantee a new collectible. Card owners can inspect their digital cards, sell them or trade with fans around the world, to build their own Topps MLB NFT collection.
History matters
Every primary NFT sale launched on WAX sold out immediately, most of which contained more than 100,000 NFTs each. Plus, secondary market sales continue to surge. In that context, it is no surprise that WAX and Topps are once again teaming up to deliver arguably the biggest collection to date. The entire 2021 Series 1 collection contains more than 1.38 million cards.
Topps is responsible for a number of different baseball card products having originally started as a chewing gum company, using the baseball cards as a sales gimmick. In a nutshell, Topps has dominated the baseball card scene for the past six decades, issuing a set every year since 1951. And the 1952 Topps Micky Mantle is the crown jewel of modern baseball cards. In April 2018 a Topps Micky Mantle card sold for $2.88 million.
Looking through the highest prices ever achieved for baseball cards proves that the physical cards absolutely gained and stored value as they came with varying qualities and uniqueness. In the same way, the modern NFT markets function today where scarcity is driving value. The release of such a collection not only feels very natural but also incredibly timely.
Sports NFT Collectibles
The arrival of NBA Top Shot in late 2020 really shook the blockchain industry as the official NBA licensed NFT collectibles quickly gained attention. NBA Top Shot is still the number one dapp in the NFT space generating almost half a billion dollars in Q1 2021. Although the figures are impressive, they have witnessed a decrease lately as rapid growth came with some technical issues that created user retention and satisfaction problems. Both of which the creators at Dapper Labs seem to be overcoming.
Previous Topps and WAX sales have all gone without any major hitches, but arguably they haven’t had such a mass appeal collectible on offer before. Furthermore, early adopters could sign up to reserve a free opening day pack, but the limit of 10,000 registrations filled up within the hour. Sign-up for the freebies is now closed.
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