YouTube star Logan Paul set a Guinness World Report on Monday by promoting his uncommon Pokemon playing cards for practically $16.5 million. That is the most important card sale in historical past. Nevertheless, the sale of the brand new file was not with out controversy.
of auction The Pikachu-illustrated Pokémon card (one in all 39 created in a Nineteen Nineties contest) was offered to AJ Scaramucci, the son of American investor Anthony Scaramucci, over a number of different bidders who supplied within the seven- to eight-figure vary.
Paul is believed to have made a revenue of $8 million after public sale charges on Monday. He bought the cardboard in July 2021 for $5.3 million.
.@Logan Paulis uncommon @Pokémon The cardboard turns into the very best worth ever offered at a file public sale.
PSA-10 Pikachu Illustrator has been launched. @GoldinCo It was finally offered for $16,492,000.https://t.co/B1YBUIqhbx
— Guinness World Information (@GWR) February 16, 2026
However the file sale reignited criticism of Paul’s transfer to separate card possession on Liquid Market in 2022 earlier than the platform went offline, leaving traders combating for returns and triggering a lawsuit in Canada.
stated Gabriel Shapiro, common counsel at Delphi Labs, in a publish to X on Monday. said Paul’s “Pikachu NFT fragmentation fiasco” is “a traditional case of ‘sloppy tokenization.’”
“Tokens are primarily simply ‘juxtaposed’ to property and haven’t any rights to it,” Shapiro stated, calling on traders to learn the phrases and circumstances and cease leaping into “authorized scams.”
pole dealt with The critic stated Liquid Market went offline for causes past his management, and after turning into conscious of the issue, he paid to have the positioning restored so customers may withdraw their funds.
Solely 5.4% of the playing cards had been break up to homeowners who paid about $270,000, Paul famous.
Paul just isn’t named within the Liquid Market lawsuit filed in June 2024 by the Ontario Securities Fee, Canada’s high securities regulator. A public listening to is scheduled for June.
Logan Paul’s previous NFT drama
This is not the primary time Paul has needed to defend himself over his involvement in NFTs. His CryptoZoo NFT challenge did not ship the promised play-to-earn sport, sparking an investor backlash and a category motion lawsuit in 2023.
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He launched a inventory buyback program that in the end refunded traders who agreed to waive authorized claims, and a category motion fraud lawsuit was in the end dismissed in 2025.
Different NFT investments by Paul have additionally failed, together with his 0N1 Pressure Assortment anime-style digital avatars. Bought It price about $635,000 in 2021 and is now price lower than $2,000.
NFT market continues to say no
Report-breaking Pokemon card gross sales additionally distinction with the stoop within the digital collectibles NFT market.
The NFT market began sturdy within the first two weeks of 2026, however since then, NFT market capitalization has elevated. fell That is a rise of greater than 50%, from $3.2 billion to $1.55 billion, regardless of a broader market contraction.
Final month, NFT marketplaces Rodeo and Nifty Gateway introduced they might wind down operations within the final week of January, additional accelerating a collection of high-profile closures within the sector.
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