An index of Pokémon card values compiled by the analytics firm Card Ladder returned about 3,821% from 2004 to August 2025. The S&P 500 gained 483% over the same period.
The way up was never a straight line, and 2026 showed it. According to the price tracker Misprint, the Prismatic Umbreon ex, one of the most wanted modern cards, peaked near $1,550 in April 2025, fell below $1,000 in early 2026 and then recovered. A newer chase card, the Mega Greninja ex from Chaos Rising, opened near $505 in late May 2026 and traded around $300 six weeks later. Over the same year, vintage cards from 1999 to 2003 rose roughly 15% to 25%.
Who carries that risk
A card shop's money sits in its inventory. When prices drop there are two options today. Sell, which means waiting for a buyer or taking a discount. Or hold, and stay exposed until the cards sell.
The short as insurance
A short position on the Kadex Index gains value when the index falls. If a dealer's cards move with the market, the gain on the short offsets the loss on the cards, and the net stays close to flat. The cards never leave the shelf.
The trade ticket has a Hedge mode for this. Instead of an order size you enter the value of your inventory and choose how much of it to cover, and Kadex opens a short of that size. If your wallet holds tokenized cards, the app reads their value for you.
What it costs
- Margin: at 5x, a short that covers $10,000 needs $2,000 of margin.
- Fees: 0.1% of the position size to open and again to close.
- Borrow: charged while the position is open. The ticket shows it as the cost of cover per month.
What it does not do
The hedge follows the index, not your exact cards. If your cards fall more than the index, the difference is yours. A short can also be liquidated if the index rises far enough against it, and the ticket shows that price before you sign.
The card prices above are examples from the sources below, not Kadex Index values. Kadex is not affiliated with Card Ladder, Misprint or The Pokémon Company.