Logan Paul has agreed to sell the world’s most expensive Pokémon card—a PSA Grade 10 Pikachu Illustrator he purchased for $5.275 million in July 2021—through Goldin Auctions. The auction, set for Jan. 12, 2026, is expected to fetch between $7 million and $12 million.
The transaction was negotiated as part of Netflix’s King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, which premiered on Dec. 23, 2025. Paul accepted a $2.5 million advance from Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions, plus a percentage of the entire auction’s proceeds.
“Ken Goldin has been chasing me for years trying to convince me to sell this Grail and he finally did it,” Paul said on Instagram. “This was a very hard decision and I’m not sure we’ll ever see this card for sale again.”
The PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator—a legendary Pokémon card
The Pikachu Illustrator holds a unique place in Pokémon history. Distributed in 1998 as prizes for winners of a CoroCoro Comic illustration contest in Japan, only approximately 39 to 41 copies were ever produced. Paul’s card is the only one to achieve a PSA Grade 10 rating—the highest possible grade from Professional Sports Authenticator, the industry’s leading card grading service—certifying it in perfect condition.
Paul famously wore the card in a custom diamond-adorned necklace valued at $75,000 during his WrestleMania debut, and the necklace will be included with the sale. His original purchase in 2021 set a Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon card sold in a private transaction.
Liquid Marketplace Fractional ownership controversy
The card’s path to auction has been complicated by Paul’s involvement with Liquid Marketplace, a platform he launched that allowed users to purchase fractional ownership tokens in high-value collectibles. The Pikachu Illustrator was listed on the platform, where users could buy shares representing partial ownership of the card.
In May 2024, Paul repurchased the card from the platform, paying what he described as a “substantial buyout amount” intended to be distributed to fractional owners. However, the platform subsequently faced regulatory scrutiny and operational issues that left many users unable to access their buyout proceeds or wallet balances.
“I recently learned that the platform also experienced operational issues, which affected user access to accounts and funds held on the platform,” Paul wrote in a statement on X. “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.”
“Ken gave me a deal I could not refuse”—Logan Paul on the sale’s timing
Paul’s decision to sell coincides with Pokémon’s 30th anniversary in 2026, a milestone expected to drive significant collector interest. The Pokémon Trading Card Game market reached $2.2 billion in 2024, representing 25 percent year-over-year growth. Industry forecasts project 15 to 25 percent annual appreciation for high-grade vintage cards through 2026.
“The Pokémon market is hot. It’s hotter than it’s ever been,” Paul told Bloomberg TV. “Ken gave me a deal I could not refuse.”
Paul previously turned down a $7.5 million offer for the card. He has argued that Pokémon collectibles have delivered approximately 3,000 percent returns over the past 20 years, significantly outperforming traditional stock market investments.
This will be the first public auction of a PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator, making it a genuine market discovery event. A PSA 9 version sold for $4 million in Sept. 2025, while lower-graded examples have been estimated between $550,000 and $650,000.
Paul will hand-deliver the card to the winning bidder along with the custom diamond necklace when the gavel falls on Jan. 12, 2026.
