ABU DHABI, UAE — Deadstock, the collectibles platform operated by ATH Labs Ltd (“ATH Labs”), and Certified Guaranty Company (“CGC”), one of the world's leading third-party grading services for trading cards, today announced a partnership to expand access to professional certification and to build the infrastructure that connects certified cards to modern ownership, custody and trading.
The partnership is wide in scope, covering market development, submission access, vaulting, digital custody and joint product programs across the regions where both companies operate including North America, Europe, and Asia. Its first and most significant focus is Japan.
Why the partnership starts in Japan
Japan is the origin market for much of the world's trading card supply and holds one of the deepest concentrations of collectible cards anywhere. It is also a market where the demand for professional grading has grown faster than the routes available to meet it. Cards that sit in Japanese collections and shops frequently must leave the country to be certified, a process that carries cost, delay and risk that most collectors are not equipped to manage on their own.
Solving that in Japan does not only serve Japanese collectors. Supply that becomes certified in Japan flows into every other market, which makes Japan the natural place for a partnership of this kind to prove itself before it scales.
"Japan is where the cards are, and it is where the friction is," said Dominic Jang, Chief Business & Operations Officer at ATH Labs. "If certified supply moves more freely out of Japan, every collector market in the world gets deeper. That is why we are starting here, and it is why this is a global partnership rather than a local one."
"As we continue to expand our services globally, we are excited to work with ATH Labs," said Steven R. Eichenbaum, CEO of Certified Collectibles Group, which includes CGC. "This partnership offers collectors a modern infrastructure in the Deadstock platform and easier access to CGC-certified collectibles, which is a benefit to collectors and the security of the hobby as a whole."
What the partnership covers
The joint work between the two companies has already begun across several areas, with the earliest implementations expected to go live by the end of the year. The partnership will focus on supporting CGC’s expansion in Japan and connecting CGC-certified cards to tokenized ownership, while enabling Deadstock to expand its inventory and product offering. Together, these initiatives are expected to have an impact beyond the two companies, contributing to the evolution of the collectibles market across the regions where both companies operate. Key deliverables will include:
Domestic submission route. Deadstock will operate a submission path that lets collectors and card shops in Japan send cards for CGC grading without individually arranging international shipping, valuation and insurance. Submissions are aggregated and handled through a single platform flow, in the local language and on local terms, and the route is open to cards from any set or region, not only Japanese-market releases.
Domestic vaulting. Graded cards can be stored in a Japan-based vault, so a collector is not required to take physical delivery in order to hold, trade or sell a certified card.
Digital custody and tokenization. Cards held int he vault are represented as digital ownership records on Deadstock's platform, making certified collectibles transferable instantly while the physical asset remains professionally stored. Redemption to physical delivery is available to the holder at any time.
Products featuring CGC-certified cards. Deadstock's digital pack products will be extended to feature CGC's highest grades. This gives collectors a new way to acquire top-grade CGC cards and gives CGC-certified inventory a direct route to an active, liquid audience.
Why now?
The collectibles market is moving toward instant settlement. Collectors increasingly expect to buy, sell and trade certified cards with the immediacy of a digital marketplace while still trusting that a professionally graded physical asset sits behind every transaction. What has been missing is the connective infrastructure: a way for a card to be certified, stored, owned, traded and redeemed without being handled a dozen times along the way.
At the same time, access to grading remains the binding constraint in Asia. For most collectors, the barrier is not the price of grading but the logistics around it, and that constraint holds back liquidity for the entire market, not just for the individual holding the card.
This partnership addresses both at once: it shortens the distance between a raw card and a certified one, and it removes the distance between a certified card and a market.
What comes next?
The submission route and vaulting programs will begin rolling out in October, with products featuring CGC-certified cards following in the same phase. Additional programs for card shops and collector communities will be announced in the coming months.
About Deadstock
Deadstock is a collectibles platform that lets collectors acquire, hold, trade and redeem graded trading cards backed by professionally vaulted physical assets. Operated by ATH Labs and headquartered in Abu Dhabi Global Market, Deadstock works with card shops, distributors and grading partners across Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and the UAE. Learn more at deadstock.gg.
About CGC
Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles, including trading card games (TCGs), sports cards, magazines, video games, and home media. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services. If you collect it, we will grade and protect it.
CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 110 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs, and stamps.
Media contact
press@ath.xyz | ATH Labs Ltd