Valuable licensed IP + Digital Ownership + Scarcity will win. The question is not if, but how long will it take.

How I got here

The Covid pandemic catalyzed an unprecedented boom in digital stocks, demonstrating how forced digitization could reshape capital markets. Between March 2020 and December 2021, the Nasdaq Composite rose 90 percent, driven by companies such as Amazon, Zoom, and Shopify, whose valuations surged as consumers, workers, and investors migrated en masse to digital platforms. Lockdowns proved that intangible assets—software, data networks, cloud infrastructure—could deliver durable economic value when physical alternatives collapsed. This episode normalized the idea that ownership and wealth creation could occur entirely online, creating a template for digital collectibles. Digital collectibles, primarily non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain-based assets, represent the next logical extension of this shift. Like digital stocks, they derive value from scarcity engineered by cryptography rather than physical rarity. The same retail investors who poured capital into tech equities during quarantine later chased Top Shot, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and CryptoPunks, treating NFTs as both cultural artifacts and speculative instruments. The infrastructure built for digital equities—mobile trading apps, fractional ownership, and 24/7 liquidity—directly enabled NFT marketplaces to scale rapidly. Longer-term, the translation appears structural rather than cyclical. As augmented reality, the metaverse, and Web3 gaming mature, digital collectibles will function as portable property rights within persistent virtual economies. Just as cloud software became essential post-COVID, digital ownership will become essential in an increasingly hybrid world. The pandemic-era stock boom proved society’s willingness to assign trillion-dollar valuations to digital-native businesses; the same logic now supports the sustained appreciation of digital-native collectibles. Far from a fleeting trend, NFTs may become the equity of the digital native communities, illiquid today, but foundational tomorrow.

Core belief

of scarcity vs physical, the increasing ease of producing fakes, and the speed at which the market can scale should the large companies in the space (Panini and Fanatics) decide to spend marketing dollars towards campaigns for this medium.

Highest-conviction platform

I collect soccer so ToppsNFT's and Panini BC are the only pools I play in. ToppsNFT's has been sent to purgatory so I'm not actively buying anything there but I continue to have faith we will realize value in those assets over the long term. Panini on the other hand continues to invest in their BC infrastructure with the recent ETH bridge to OpenSea. Panini's loss of NBA and NFL licenses to fanatics could hurt the NFT business case over the near term, but the longevity of the FIFA license continues to give me confidence.

Allocation logic

I am a combination of collector, value investor, and prospector. The one thing I don't do is gamble on opening packs. In fact, much of my activity centers around buying packs and reselling them to fund my collector/prospective singles purchases. If I see what I feel is an undervalued asset, I'm willing to commit to cornering portions of the market for said asset.

The tension I hold

That digital ownership is still nascent as as legal concept. The terms and conditions these platforms provide can be murky at times and there has yet to be a landmark case revolving around the ownership of assets.

Theory of value

Platform health, athlete performance, and scarcity, in that order, are the primary drivers in my opinion

What I'm building

I'd like to own one of the world's premier digital soccer portfolios 10 years from now

Physical vs. digital stance

I've moved away from physical almost entirely

Print runs in physical have gone astronomical. I've gotten much busier in my work life and have less time for dealing with the painful logistical parts of physical.