WAX and Topps Trading Cards: What the 2020 Partnership Means

In March 2020, Topps, the long-running trading card company, said it had chosen the WAX blockchain as the platform for a line of digital collectibles. The stated aim was to let fans create, buy, sell and trade virtual Topps items. The approach is the same one used for other NFT collectibles: each item is a unique token recorded on a blockchain.

The announcement was a platform choice, not a change to Topps' physical business. Topps kept making printed cards, and the digital items were meant to sit alongside them. Readers searching for this partnership usually want three things: what was agreed, which products came from it, and whether those products still exist.

The public record available for this guide is thin on details such as launch dates, pricing and sales volumes, so this article sticks to what the announcement established. It explains how to verify everything else yourself. Treat any older article that gives exact sales figures or long-term commitments with caution unless it cites a primary source you can check.

The word wax means two different things here. In trading card collecting, a wax pack is a sealed pack of printed cards, the classic product Topps has sold for decades. Public reporting about 1977, 1990 and 1991 Topps wax packs show how collectors talk about opening those packs and checking the cards inside.

WAX, written in capitals, is a blockchain. It is a separate network used for NFTs and in-game items. The partnership sits on the blockchain meaning. A physical wax pack and a WAX token are unrelated products, and a sealed box of printed cards does not give you a digital item.

The confusion matters when you buy. Sellers of old packs and sellers of NFTs both use the word, so check which product a listing actually describes before you pay. When you search for updates, add terms such as blockchain, NFT or digital to avoid results about vintage packs.

A digital Topps item on WAX was meant to work like other NFTs. A collector would hold the token in a compatible wallet, list it on a WAX marketplace, and transfer it to someone else when they sold. Ownership is recorded on the blockchain, so anyone can check the current holder of a given token.

There are a few practical points to understand. First, the token's record shows ownership, while the artwork and descriptive data may be stored elsewhere. If that storage stops being maintained, the token can look incomplete even though the ownership record is intact. Second, the value of any collectible depends on demand, which can drop quickly. Third, marketplace fees and wallet network costs reduce what a seller actually receives.

If a program sells random packs rather than fixed items, the pack rules become important. Read the odds and terms that the operator publishes before buying, and remember that a pack purchase is a chance-based purchase.

Because the results available for this guide do not confirm the current status of the program, use the following steps to check it yourself:

1. Check Topps' official website and news pages for any announcement about the WAX collectibles.
2. Search the WAX marketplaces for the collection name, not just Topps, to see what is listed.
3. Open the collection page and look at the most recent sale or transfer dates.
4. Look for wording such as sunset, migration or discontinued in official posts.
5. Confirm the wallet address and token details against the official collection before you buy or sell.

If the program is no longer active, you can still hold the items, but you may have fewer places to trade them. If it is active, compare prices across listings and keep records of every purchase for tax and personal tracking purposes. Where a figure is needed, such as a current price or total volume, check the marketplace directly, because those numbers change often.

Two WAX marketplaces are useful starting points for seeing how WAX collectibles trade. AtomicHub is a multichain marketplace centered on WAX and EOS-family chains. It covers gaming items, collectibles and digital art, so you can see many kinds of WAX assets in one place.

NFT Hive is a WAX marketplace for buying, selling and creating NFTs. It offers drops, analytics and bulk tools, which can help collectors who manage many items. Its analytics can help you see trends, but treat them as a starting point rather than a guarantee.

Feature	AtomicHub	NFT Hive
Main chain focus	WAX and EOS-family chains	WAX
Asset types	Gaming items, collectibles, art	NFTs in general
Useful for	Browsing many asset types	Drops and bulk management

Before trading on any marketplace, check the fees, the royalty settings and how you connect your wallet. Only connect to the official domain, and never enter your recovery phrase on a site that asks for it.

Digital cards on a blockchain are not the only way trading cards now meet crypto. Courtyard is a marketplace and tokenization service for vaulted, insured physical collectibles, including graded trading cards, sold through digital packs. The token represents a claim tied to a physical item held in storage.

Phygitals is a Solana marketplace where users open packs to pull vaulted graded trading cards. Users can hold, trade, sell back or redeem the cards they receive. This is a hybrid model: the item is physical, but the ownership and trading run on a blockchain.

With any hybrid product, check the redemption terms, the custody arrangements, the insurance coverage and how grading is handled. Ask what happens if you want the physical card delivered, what fees apply, and how the operator verifies that the item in the vault matches the token. Pack-based mechanics also fall under local gambling rules, so check the laws where you live before buying.

Sports moment NFTs offer another angle on collectibles. NBA Top Shot is a licensed NBA highlight NFT marketplace on the Flow blockchain, built by Dapper Labs and organized around pack drops and trading. NFL All Day is the NFL and NFLPA licensed platform from the same developer, where fans buy and trade video highlight Moments.

FIFA Collect is FIFA's official digital collectibles platform, launched on Algorand, and offers World Cup items and ticket-related packs for football fans. Each platform has its own rules about pack purchases, transfers and what the licence covers.

When comparing these with the WAX and Topps program, look at four things: who issues the licence, which blockchain the items use, how primary sales are run, and how secondary trading works. Licensed sports products can change their terms, so read the current rules rather than relying on older guides. Also check whether the platform is still operating before you commit money to it.

Buying and holding digital collectibles carries practical risks. The most common is fake listings and impersonation, where a scammer copies the look of an official collection or a brand name. Verify every listing against the official source before you act.

Phishing is the second risk. Messages, posts or sites may ask you to connect your wallet to claim a reward or to verify an account. Never share your recovery phrase or private key with anyone, and treat any request for either as a scam.

The third risk is market risk. Collectible prices can fall, and some items sell slowly or not at all. Only spend what you can afford to lose, and keep records of what you paid and what you received.

Finally, be careful with pack openings and random draws. These can resemble gambling, and the rules differ by location. Check local laws, take part only if you are 18 or older, and do not use a VPN or any other method to get around geo-restrictions or age checks. Look for security practices recommended by your wallet provider, such as hardware wallets or separate wallets for collecting.

Physical wax packs remain a separate hobby with their own rules. When you assess a pack, start with the wrapper and box. A sealed, undamaged pack with intact packaging is generally treated differently from one that has been reseated or opened and resealed. Look at the printing quality, the wrapper's condition and any sign of tampering.

Next, consider the cards inside, if you open a pack. Assess centering, corners, edges and surface condition. A card's condition has a big effect on its value, so photograph everything before you sell.

To estimate what a pack or card is worth, look at recent completed sales for the same item rather than asking prices. Asking prices can stay high long after a market has cooled. Specialist grading services can also verify condition, though they charge fees.

For next steps, decide whether you want digital items, physical cards, or both. If you choose digital, verify the program's current status first, then study marketplace fees and wallet security. If you choose physical, learn how condition affects value and buy only from sellers who show clear photos and return terms.