TCGX Discovery Market

TCGX is an index for trading-card market exposure. Its oracle combines observations from a range of cards into one reference level for the perpetual market. The index is not the price of a single card, an offer to trade physical cards, or a promise that the cards could be sold at their observed prices.

For an overview of TCGX, see n1.xyz/tcgx.

An observation is a data provider's reported USD price for one specified card variant, together with the time the provider last updated it. It is not necessarily a completed sale, a live bid or ask, or evidence that the card can be traded at that price. A newly published index value can include card prices that have not changed since an earlier provider update; their age is still checked before publication.

What is in the basket?

The index basket contains 160 selected card variants from four games. A variant identifies a particular card, set, printing, condition, and language. The three views below show different measures: the number of selected variants, each game's index weight, and the recorded prices of one copy of each variant on a past date. None measures sales volume or how many cards could be traded at those prices.

By basket membership

• Magic: The Gathering50%80 variants across 50 sets
• Pokémon30%48 variants across 24 sets
• One Piece Card Game10%16 variants across 8 sets
• Disney Lorcana10%16 variants across 4 sets

Share of the 160 selected variants, not share of the index. The cards remain in the basket until a reviewed methodology change; they are not automatically replaced after each price update.

By index weight

Each game has an index weight, shared equally among its selected variants. These weights determine how much each card can contribute to the index calculation and to data-freshness checks. They are not based on the price totals in the next chart.

• Magic: The Gathering42%80 variants, 0.525% each
• Pokémon45%48 variants, 0.9375% each
• One Piece Card Game11%16 variants, 0.6875% each
• Disney Lorcana2%16 variants, 0.125% each

Game weights add to 100%. A card's stated weight is its game's weight divided by the number of selected variants in that game. Robust aggregation can change a card's influence on an individual update.

By recorded card prices

This view adds the recorded USD price of one copy of each selected variant within a game, then divides by the total across all 160 variants. In the 24 August 2026 snapshot, that one-of-each total was $6,673.79.

• Magic: The Gathering35.85%$2,392.24 in recorded prices
• Pokémon28.04%$1,871.49 in recorded prices
• One Piece Card Game19.80%$1,321.46 in recorded prices
• Disney Lorcana16.31%$1,088.60 in recorded prices

This is a dated sum of recorded reference prices for one hypothetical copy of each variant. It is not the financial value of every card in these games, observed sales volume, executable liquidity, or the index's weighting. Current accepted prices may differ from the snapshot.

Cards are selected for usable price history, sufficiently recent observations, and price behavior that can be checked. Limits on cards from the same set or family help keep one narrow collection from dominating a game.

From many observations to one level

Observations are checked for consistency and recency before they can affect the index. The basket spreads influence across cards rather than letting one unusual printing define the market.

Each accepted card price is compared with that card's own reference price. Taking a logarithm turns that comparison into a relative move, so a low-priced card and a high-priced card can be considered on the same scale. Let $p_i(t)$ be the accepted price of card $i$, $a_i$ its reference price, and $w_i$ its share of the index weight. The calculation is:

$$z_i(t)=\ln\!\left(\frac{p_i(t)}{a_i}\right)$$

Each $w_i$ is the game's weight divided by its number of selected cards. The index finds a shared log-level $\theta$ using a clipped score $\psi_{0.8}$:

$$\sum_i w_i\,\psi_{0.8}(z_i-\theta)=0$$ $$I(t)=I_0e^\theta$$

Here, $I_0$ sets the index's starting level. The score $\psi_{0.8}(x)$ clips $x$ to the range $[-0.8,0.8]$. That threshold is a log-price residual threshold, not a daily price-change cap. It reduces the influence of an isolated abnormal observation but cannot rule out coordinated manipulation. Source freshness is counted with the same $w_i$: an out-of-date card in a heavily weighted game counts more against overall coverage. The source also checks coverage within each game. It does not discard stale cards and renormalize the remaining prices into a seemingly healthy basket.

How the index is used

TCGX's published value becomes the market's index price. It is a reference, not a guaranteed price at which users can trade. The market's mark price may differ from it and affect funding.

Monitoring and changes

We closely monitor source observations and index behavior for unusual patterns and possible manipulation. An update can be withheld when the data do not support a reliable index value. We do not publish the full input list or exact intervention thresholds, since those details could make the index easier to target.

The index is subject to change, including its card selection and game weights. Material methodology changes will be communicated to traders. If there is an immediate risk to price integrity, restrictions or a pause may take effect sooner.

Card markets can be thin, and observations can be stale or distorted. If the available evidence no longer supports a reliable index, new risk may be restricted or trading paused. A displayed index level does not guarantee an exit price.

Initial exposure limit

TCGX launches with a $100,000 limit on total user gross exposure. Every user's long or short position counts toward this limit at its absolute value, using the index price. Longs and shorts do not cancel each other out:

$$G_t = P_{\mathrm{index},t}\sum_{u\in\mathrm{user\ accounts}} |q_{u,t}|$$

Here, $q_{u,t}$ is a user's signed TCGX position and $P_{\mathrm{index},t}$ is the index price in USD per TCGX. For example, USD 50,000 of user longs plus USD 50,000 of user shorts uses the full USD 100,000 limit, even though the two sides net to zero. The limit does not guarantee a quote or fill at any particular size.

See Discovery Markets for the general policy on limited launch capacity and reviewed increases.