Panini Open Ethereum Bridge, Name OpenSea Exclusive Marketplace

Join 5750+ Leaders in Blockchain & Sports from brands like FIFA, NBA, Premier League, NHL, reading Sporting Crypto every week 👇️ 

Prediction markets have become something that Sporting Crypto would analyse every couple of months 2 years ago, to something that is cropping up every week.

That’s why we’re launching Predicted, a place for me to write about the business of prediction markets every week.

You can support and subscribe below 👇️

Panini Blockchain — An Overview 🎴

Panini's blockchain has been running since 2020.

The platform operates as a closed ecosystem. Collectors buy digital packs, open cards, and trade on Panini's internal marketplace.

And now, they are opening up the experience to a third-party marketplace in OpenSea. Until now, Panini has run the entire experience end-to-end in a closed-loop way. The model being: we control the platform, you rent the experience.

Robert Hull, Panini America CFO said:

"The Panini Blockchain marketplace has been thriving. It is time for our customers to experience self-custody and the opportunity to sell on a recognised Web 3 marketplace."

The Data 📊

The numbers back up the CFO's claim.

2025 was Panini Blockchain's strongest year:

• 60M in secondary sales (4.3x vs 2024's $14M)

• Q4 2025 hit $15.1M alone

• September 2025 peaked at $15.6M (single-month record)

• Jan-Feb 2026 sustained $11.2M momentum into the new year

And the chart for monthly transactions mirrors the sales volume closely, with troughs and peaks following one another.

2025 saw 1.85M transactions, 3.8x that of 2024's 492,000.

Looking at user numbers:

• Unique sellers grew from 1,300-2,400 range (2024) to 3,000-8,000+ (2025).

• Average monthly sellers 2025: 4,508 (2.7x growth vs 2024)

• Peak buyers ever: 3,651 (December 2021, NFT boom)

Panini have launched this from a position of strength, as the data portrays.

The Bridge to Ethereum 🌉

Starting March 30th at 8am CT, collectors can transfer cards from Panini wallets to self-custody wallets on Ethereum.

Once bridged, cards can be bought and sold on OpenSea, which Panini named as its exclusive on-chain marketplace partner.

This is how it works:

• When a card moves to Ethereum, the original Panini version gets locked in escrow.

• Only one version exists at a time.

• Collectors can also bridge cards back to Panini's platform to participate in platform-exclusive events or sell on Panini's internal marketplace. When that happens, the Ethereum version gets locked.

• Digital cards are eligible, but not unopened packs.

Panini tested the bridge in December 2025, minting cards on Ethereum mainnet, selling them on OpenSea, and returning them to the Panini blockchain.

Cards transferred to OpenSea display the verified checkmark and full transaction history from both Panini's blockchain and Ethereum.

Oliver Maroney, head of partnerships at OpenSea said:

"Bringing officially licensed cards onchain is a natural evolution for the category. We're proud to be the exclusive marketplace for Panini's digital collectibles."

All the while, Panini are still in control due to their escrow architecture.

When you bridge a card to Ethereum, Panini doesn't burn the original. They lock it.

That means Panini maintains custody of the locked asset. They control the bridge smart contract.

They can:

• Pause bridging

• Modify which collections are eligible

• Update the escrow rules

• Shut down the bridge entirely

Typically, decentralisation would mean:

• Smart contract escrow with no admin keys

• Permissionless bridging for all collections

• No platform control over card movement

• Community governance over bridge parameters

So is this optionality, or ownership?

Concluding Thoughts 💭

1) Corporations Getting Comfortable With On-Chain Risk

For years, the biggest barrier to major brands launching on public blockchains wasn't tech — it was control.

Once a digital asset bridges to Ethereum, it's out there. Traders can do whatever they want with it (as long as it doesn't infringe IP).

That terrifies most big companies.

Panini's bridge is an experiment in giving up control in their own time. They're testing whether self-custody drives more collector engagement — or whether opening the gates just cannibalises their closed ecosystem.

If this works, it proves that large IP holders can selectively open their platforms without losing revenue or brand control.

We’ve seen this a lot in finance where there are closed loop ecosystems willing to tiptoe their way onto public blockchains, without giving up too much control.

We’re now seeing that with IP.

2) Self-Custody as an Insurance Policy

Collectors who've spent thousands on digital cards want a fallback. Self-custody means that even if Panini's platform shuts down, the cards still exist on Ethereum, should that bridge not be closed by Panini.

That's not a use case most people think about when markets are working. But it's the existential hedge that serious collectors care about.

As per Robert Hull, Panini CFO: "It is time for our customers to experience self-custody and the opportunity to sell on a recognised Web 3 marketplace."

3) Will this Work?

The big unknown: does bridging grow the pie, or just redistribute existing volume?

There are three scenarios:

1. Cross-pollination works — collectors discover Panini via OpenSea, buy cards, and bridge them back to Panini's platform for exclusive events and incentives.

2. Cannibalisation — Existing Panini collectors move to OpenSea because fees are lower or liquidity is better. Panini loses marketplace revenue.

3. No impact — Collectors who want self-custody bridge once for insurance, then go dormant. No meaningful volume shift either way.

4) Panini’s Licensing Struggle Backdrop

In their traditional business, Panini are struggling.

Although typically a $1-1.2bn in revenue per year business, Panini are losing licenses.

NFL, NBA, MLB and EPL in the last few years, to name a few.

It’s difficult to estimate the revenue projections considering that, but one thing is for certain; it will be very detrimental to them going forward.

Panini blockchain does offer something, though — a way to make margins much wider on the licences they already have. No need to print, ship, or distribute with stores — the creation and distribution are digital.

But does that even matter if you do not have the IP that collectors are craving?

Or will those licenses shift to become digitally concentrated?

More Sports & Web3 Stories

• McLaren Racing Joins Hedera Council to Accelerate Digital Innovation (Read more here)

• From The Block: Crypto's popularity among kids drove X Games-MoonPay deal: 'New energy and new transformation' (Read more here)

General ‘Stuff’ that Could Impact You

• NYSE owner doubles down on Polymarket with fresh $600 million investment (Read more here)

Thanks for reading the latest edition of the Sporting Crypto newsletter!

If you enjoyed this, please tell your friends who might be interested and share it on socials.

Disclaimers

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial, business or legal advice. These are the author’s thoughts & opinions and do not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity or sponsor. Any companies or projects mentioned are for illustrative purposes unless specified.

The contents of this newsletter should not be used in any public or private domain without the express permission of the author.

The contents of this newsletter should not be used for any commercial activity, for example - research report, consultancy activity, or paywalled article without the express permission of the author.

Please note, the services and products advertised by our sponsors (by use of terminology such as but not limited to; supported by, sponsored by or brought to you by) in this newsletter carry inherent risks and should not be regarded as completely safe or risk-free. Third-party entities provide these services and products, and we do not control, endorse, or guarantee the accuracy, efficacy, or safety of their offerings.

It's crucial to provide our readers with clear information regarding the inherent nature of services and products that might be covered in this newsletter, including those advertised by our sponsors from time to time. When you buy cryptoassets (including NFTs) your capital is at risk. Risks associated with cryptoassets include price volatility, loss of capital (the value of your cryptoassets could drop to zero), complexity, lack of regulation and lack of protection. Most service providers operating in the cryptoasset industry do not currently operate in a regulated industry. Therefore, please be aware that when you buy cryptoassets, you are not protected under financial compensation schemes and protections typically afforded to investors when dealing with regulated and authorised entities to operate as financial services firm.