Trades and Trends: September 4, 2021

Join Altan Insights as we highlight trading activity across the various alternative marketplaces with a combination of charts and penned analysis to help investors track trends and price movements that impact their portfolio.

Rally

August closed as the best month of trading on Rally to date- with impressive returns coupled with limited losses. Sixty-three different assets traded on Rally with an average platform return of 32.11%. The median return was 15.54% and no asset fell more than -17% during the month. The August performance well outpaced July returns on Rally as the average return in July was 13.2% and the median was 0.86%. Four different assets more than doubled their market caps while nine offerings added at least 75% to their price. Out of the six assets that traded negatively during August, only two fell more than -4%.

Video games starred during the month as two sealed games gained over 250%. The 1998 Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soared 325.53% and the copy of Wild Gunman climbed 257.14% to lead in August. The asset class returned 214.3%, outpacing comic books and card games which closed with average returns of 54.24% and 49.25% respectively. Every asset class traded positively during the month with wine finishing as the ‘worst’ performing sector, gaining 11.06% on average. Luxury and sports memorabilia were the only asset classes to close August with lower average returns than in July. Luxury gained 25.73% in July and followed with a 20.91% return in August. Memorabilia climbed 41.18% in August versus an average of 43.62% in July. 

This was the second consecutive month that Kobe Bryant-related assets struggled on Rally. In July, the 1996 Topps Finest Refractor Kobe Bryant Rookie Card cut its market cap by -27.27% and the 2016 Farewell Court lost -23.75%. In August, the 2003 UD Exquisite Kobe Bryant card dropped -16.67%. The three worst-performing assets in August were all sports cards as Lionel Messi’s rookie slipped -13.33% and LeBron’s Chrome Refractor dropped -3.57%. Even with the losses, sports cards managed to close the month positive with an average return of 15.26%. Cars and sports cards tied with 14 traded assets in August to lead as the most represented sectors. Cars closed with an average return of 19.77% and were led by the 2011 BMW 1M which climbed 92.86%. 

Collectable

Note: Only assets that traded for the entire month are included in data calculations and graphs.‍

Performance on Collectable continued to climb in August. The average platform return in June was -12.21% but closed July at 9.74%. August well outperformed both months with an average return of 19.33% and a median return of 10.57%. There were 94 different assets that traded the entire month on Collectable- up from 73 in July. Three different offerings gained at least 100% while 10 assets climbed at least 50%. Losses were extremely limited on Collectable as no offering fell more than -11.50%. 

For the second consecutive month, sports memorabilia outperformed sports cards on Collectable. Memorabilia climbed 22.78% versus cards which added 18.22% on average. The top-performing assets were pieces of sports memorabilia as the Tiger Woods Tournament-Used Putter jumped 125% and the Sandy Koufax Game-Used Jersey rose 100%. Game-worn jersey’s climbed 27.8% on average in August while photos gained 11.84%. 

Aaron Rodgers returned to Green Bay in preparation for the 2021 NFL season and his 2005 Playoff Contenders rookie card doubled its market cap to lead all sports cards. NFL cards shined overall as MVP candidates Tom Brady and Josh Allen also saw impressive appreciation in the final month before kick-off. Brady-related assets gained 43.57% on average while the Josh Allen rookie card ascended 38.74%. Football closed as the second best performing sport with an average return of 27.15%. Golf, led by the Tiger putter, finished on top with an average return of 49.92%. Hockey experienced the biggest month over month bounce back after the sport fell -9.31% in July. Superstar rookie cards of Sydney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin delivered strong performance in August to propel the frozen game to an average ROI of 17.51%. 

Losses were limited on Collectable with eight of the ten worst-performing offerings falling less than 10%. Boxing was the only sport to trade negatively on average and five of the eight sports represented gained at least 14%.

‍

Otis

Note: Only assets that traded for the entire month are included in data calculations and graphs.‍

The average return on Otis in August was nearly identical to the average July performance. Assets in August closed 9.08% higher, compared to an average ROI of 9.07% in July. The median return jumped from 1.6% to 5% month over month and 89 different assets traded on Otis throughout the entire month. Two different assets doubled their market caps on Otis as the 2002 Panini Cristiano Ronaldo rookie card jumped 154.24% and the NES Zelda II: The Adventures of Link soared 145.25%. Ten assets gained at least 28% on Otis while only 2 assets fell more than-28%. Video games closed as the best-performing asset class that was represented by multiple offerings. The sector returned 26.23% on average, up from 15.18% in July. Card games fell -10.02% on average to close as the worst-performing sector and the asset class was the only to fall more than -2%. Sports cards were represented by 29 different assets and the sector climbed 11.25% on average. Art and sneakers were both represented by 16 offerings and returned -1.93% and 7.20% respectively. Three of the five best-performing assets were video games and four different sealed games closed within the top ten. 

One offering that rebounded in August was the 1996 Bowman Atomic Refractor Kobe Bryant rookie card. The Kobe rookie fell -13.79% in July but rose 28% in August- good enough for the tenth best-performing asset overall. The Original Apple iPhone gained 90% to close July as the top returning asset and the sealed phone continued to provide impressive returns in August. The 2G device climbed another 73.68% and is now up 230% overall since IPO. 

Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!

‍‍

Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.