[Translation] Rare Pepe: The Mysterious Bitcoin Digital Trading Card

In some circles of the crypto world, a strange thing called Rarepepe cards has become popular.

Because this is a very strange story, if you’re going to close this page quietly, now is the time.

In simple terms,Counterparty(Counterparty, currency is XCP) is a platform that runs on the Bitcoin blockchain, where anyone can easily issue their own token (coin).

You can name the token, decide the issuance amount, distribute dividends to holders, and so on, realizing what is called a "token economy" for each purpose. Tokens can be freely sent and received between users, and they can also be bought and sold between users on Counterparty’s decentralized exchange.

Since tokens in this world are not physical, they are often referred to as coins, but Rarepepe reframes that as cards. Digital cards. Because they are cards, they can express various forms (illustrations, words, etc.), and their value is assigned from artistic or entertainment aspects.

It may be a bit hard to understand, but in simpler terms, people create cards themed around various subjects on their own, and like-minded people gather to exchange, sell, or auction them, thereby collecting and enjoying a digital world.

Apparently, there are plans to develop games that will use these Rarepepe cards in the future, so as such use cases increase, the value of Rarepepe cards may rise, which is somewhat exciting. Still, I don’t fully understand the artistic (or entertainment) aspect of this Rarepepe worldview yet (laugh).

Now, there was an English article about Rarepepe, so I translated it.

The mystery of Rarepepe’s popularity may be unraveled… let’s read.

Rarepepe: The Mysterious Digital Trading Cards on Bitcoin

Trading cards, a form of entertainment existing for centuries, have emerged on the Bitcoin blockchain in the form of Rarepepe.

In the 1800s, the first trading cards were placed inside tobacco boxes to reinforce the box’s strength and preserve the tobacco. Tobacco companies printed lithographs on topics that would attract smokers, giving value to thick paper and promoting their brands.

By the 1900s, hundreds of tobacco companies began attaching trading cards. The first baseball cards were enclosed inside tobacco boxes. However, when World War II began, paper resources became scarce, and that era ended.