Panini America’s non-fungible token (NFT) offering, which represents digital sports trading cards, has proven to be a viable business.

According to new research by the sports and blockchain newsletter Sporting Crypto, this product generated approximately US$11 million in revenue during the first seven months of 2026, comprising US$8.97 million in digital pack sales and US$2.05 million in marketplace fees. This revenue was primarily driven by the 2026 FIFA World Cup and a partnership with the football association to release a series of exclusive digital drops that celebrates the tournament.

Panini America launched its Prizm FIFA World Cup 2026 offering on June 19, 2026. These packs represent all 48 nations that participated in the 2026 tournament, and feature international superstars including Lamine Yamal, Christian Pulisic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland. Initially, First Of The Line (FOTL) packs, which are limited early-release versions of the cards, were sold for US$150 each, while Hobby packs were priced at US$25.

The launch of the packs series resulted in the highest primary sales month ever for Panini Blockchain, with sales reaching US$3.35 million in June 2026. This surpassed the previous record of US$3.13 million set in January 2026. Primary sales refer to the sale of digital packs by the issuer itself and constitute Panini Blockchain’s primary revenue source for its NFT offering.

In the secondary market, the launch also led to a surge in the average sale price. This price rose nearly threefold in the span of just four months, growing from US$31.69 in March 2026 to US$84.95 in July 2026.

Currently, the top Prizm FIFA World Cup 2026 digital card, a Legendary card of Cristiano Ronaldo, is selling for an offer of US$30,000. The next sought-after card, an Epic card featuring Lionel Messi, is on sale for US$25,000 for a best offer currently standing at US$22,500.

This surge in demand has led to a significant increase in secondary market fees collected by Panini Blockchain. Secondary market fees represent the fees that Panini Blockchain earns when collectors sell their NFTs to each other. This fee stands at a 5% for marketplace sales up to US$50,000, and 2.5% for sales exceeding that amount.

In May 2026, Panini Blockchain collected less than US$5 million in secondary market fees, according to the research. By June 2026, that amount rose to about US$13 million. The momentum continued into July 2026, with fees totaling about US$11 million.

At the same time, the number of traders has remained relatively stable, with about 2,000 unique buyers, and about 4,000 unique sellers throughout 2025 and 2026.

These findings suggest that the surge in revenue for Panini Blockchain was not driven by the fact that more traders entered the market, but rather because of the higher-value trading of premium products among an existing collector base, and speculation.

Panini Blockchain’s NFT offering

Panini America is one of the world’s biggest licensed sports and entertainment collectibles company. It partners with prominent leagues, teams, athletes and entertainment licenses to produce some of the most iconic and respected collectibles in the hobby.

In January 2020, Panini America launched its first digital trading cards, built on blockchain technology and operating as NFTs.

These officially-licensed digital collectibles featured 100 athletes including Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal, and were sold in an auction format with ten cards being released each week. Each of these digital cards has a corresponding physical card, usually containing an autograph or a piece of memorabilia of the athlete.

Panini Blockchain cards originally lived on the company’s own blockchain platform and could only be exchanged through its official marketplace. However, in March 2026, the company launched its Ethereum bridge, allowing collectors to move their digital collectible cards from their Panini wallets to self-custody wallets and trade them as standard Ethereum assets. It also named OpenSea its official and exclusive marketplace partner.

Renewed interest

The launch of Panini’s digital collectibles coincided with the surge in popularity of NFTs. According to DappRadar, a platform that tracks decentralized application (DApp) activity, NFT trading surged 23-fold between 2020 and 2021, rising from just US$100 million to US$23 billion. This growth was fueled by the cryptocurrency bull market and the accumulation of crypto wealth.

However, the NFT market experienced a significant decline in 2022 due to crashing crypto prices, widespread speculative hype that exceeded actual utility, and rampant fraud, rug pulls, and project hacks. That year, NFT trading volumes across the top eight chains plunged by about 90%, falling from US$13.3 billion in Q1 2022 to US$1.5 billion in Q4 2022, according to CoinGecko. By September 2023, over 95% of NFT collections had zero monetary value, research by dappGambl show.

The 2026 World Cup reignited interest in the NFT and the broader crypto space. A Chainalysis research reveals that the tournament generated US$20 billion in prediction market volume between January 2026 and the end of the World Cup. Specifically, US$5.7 billion was generated during the five weeks of the event itself.

Prediction markets are digital platforms where users trade shares on the outcomes of future, real-time events, such as elections or sports, with prices reflecting the crowd’s estimated probability of the event. These platforms often use blockchain technology, leveraging smart contracts to handle trades and payouts, or utilizing cryptocurrencies for 24/7 global settlement.

During the 2026 World Cup, key storylines like the winner of the tournament, saw the most activity, but other niche questions attracted millions of dollars as well. Notably, one market even asked bettors whether Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo would cry during a match.

Beyond prediction markets, digital collectibles also experienced a surge in activity. Notably, FIFA Collect, the association’s official digital collectibles and NFT platform, generated US$24 million in stablecoin-powered transaction volume before and during the 2026 World Cup.

FIFA Collect’s digital collectibles are different from Panini Blockchain’s Prizm FIFA World Cup 2026 digital cards. These NFTs, which run on the FIFA Blockchain, allow fans to collect and trade digital collectibles commemorating the tournament’s biggest stars. The program also acted as an access path to the tournament itself, allowing collectors to turn their digital trinkets into real-world tickets. According to FIFA Collect, over 100,000 fans were able to get tickets to matches through the platform.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by magnific via Magnific