Media OutReach
MemeStrategy Debuts Museum-Quality “Grade10 Vault” for Pro Trading Card Collectors
MemeStrategy has established Grade10 Vault in partnership with Crown Fine Art, a global leader in art logistics and secure storage. All cards authenticated and vaulted through Grade10 are housed within Crown Fine Art’s secure facilities, addressing three critical industry challenges and collector concerns: physical asset security, inconvenience of authentication verification, and the lack of digital asset management solutions.
The global trading card market continues its robust expansion, valued at USD15.8 billion in 2024 and projected to reach USD23.5 billion by 2030[1]. Trading cards have evolved from a hobbyist pursuit into an alternative asset class with significant investment value. Data from Card Ladder[2], as cited by The Wall Street Journal, reveals that the value of Pokémon cards has surged by 3,821% since 2004 — significantly outperforming the S&P 500 Index, which recorded a gain of 483% over the same period.
Growing Demand: Why Collectors Need Better Protection Right Now
The trading cards market—spanning Pokémon, sports, Yu‑Gi‑Oh!—has grown rapidly in recent years, driving higher values for high-grade and rare cards. This expansion has also brought increased risks: counterfeits are more prevalent, and incidents of theft have risen, affecting even established sales channels. Many individual collectors and smaller dealers lack access to professional‑grade storage facilities. Without proper climate control, secure environments, or institutional safeguards, valuable cards remain vulnerable to damage and loss.
Traditional record-keeping adds further challenges. Paper-based certificates and third‑party records can be lost, forged, or disputed, making long‑term management and ownership transfer difficult. In addition, environmental factors—including humidity, temperature fluctuations, UV exposure, and oxidation—degrade card condition, often leading to reduced value over time. Most collectors cannot replicate the precise preservation standards required to protect investments effectively.
4 Key Advantages that Set Grade10 Vault Apart
To address these challenges, MemeStrategy has built Grade10 Vault as an integrated solution that combines secure physical storage, professional authentication, blockchain‑based certification, and remote asset management. The service is underpinned by four key advantages:
1. Institutional-Grade Security and Insurance Coverage
All cards are stored in Crown Fine Art’s globally recognized, museum-grade facilities, featuring temperature and humidity-controlled environments, fire-resistant and theft-proof protections, 24/7 surveillance, and full insurance coverage.
2. Authoritative Authentication with Digital Archiving
Each card undergoes professional authentication, cataloguing, and high-resolution digital imaging upon intake, establishing a permanent digital record. This process minimizes disputes, enhances transaction efficiency, and increases market acceptance when trading or consigning through auction houses and platforms.
3. Blockchain-Enabled Immutable Ownership Records
Leveraging MemeStrategy’s Solana-based real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure, Grade10 mints a unique on-chain digital twin for every card. This provides a tamper-proof, transparent record of provenance, transaction history, and ownership, supporting future applications such as collateralization, fractional ownership, and improved liquidity.
4. Seamless Digital Asset Management
Collectors and dealers access their dedicated Grade10 digital portfolio to view collection status, historical records, high-resolution images, and on-chain certificates in real time without physically handling the assets. This model balances robust security with convenience to enable a true digital asset management.
Ray Chan, Chief Executive Officer of MemeStrategy, said, “The launch of Grade10 Vault positions MemeStrategy at the forefront of the evolution and continued growth of the collectibles market, delivering the professional and comprehensive infrastructure the industry has long needed. It also marks a major strategic step in integrating blockchain technology into physical asset management, as we advance the digitization and financialization of cultural assets. With this initiative, we aim to enhance liquidity, deepen market trust, and drive the entire collectibles industry toward greater credibility and efficiency.”
Invitation-Only Initial Phase with Industry Endorsements
Grade10 Vault will launch with an invitation-only phase to maintain high service standards and build strong industry adoption. Confirmed early participants include PokeColor, Chinese Mainland’s largest trading card platform, as well as Hong Kong’s leading card dealers Card Express, HobbyX, and Home-run. Invited dealers may deposit trading cards certified by PSA, CGC, SGC or BGS at no cost, gaining priority access to Grade10’s professional storage, tokenization, and full concierge support. This establishes a solid foundation for collector community growth. To expand the reach of its premium vaulting service, Grade10 plans to expand its market presence through trading-card exhibitions across Hong Kong and key Asian cities, supporting a broader market expansion in the future.
Grade10 Vault’s comprehensive concierge support ensures a seamless vaulting experience—every deposited card undergoes authentication by Grade10’s professional team, and is followed by digital certification and tokenization. This multi-layered protection framework is designed to enhance both the security and long-term value of the assets.
Hashtag: #MemeStrategy #Grade10 #Grade10Vault #TradingCard #Vault #Pokemon #SportsCard
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About MemeStrategy
MemeStrategy (HKEX: 2440) is Asia’s publicly listed digital asset venture, managed by the team behind 9GAG, a globally acclaimed meme platform with over 200 million users. Leveraging its social media and Web3 expertise, MemeStrategy adopts a people-first approach to strategically invest in three key growth pillars: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and Culture, aiming to bridge the new economy with traditional finance and accelerate the development of decentralized technologies.
About Grade10
Grade10 was founded in 2023 to unite Hong Kong’s trading card industry and collector community. Over the years, it has grown into the city’s premier platform for card enthusiasts and industry professionals. Grade10 is a division of MemeStrategy (HKEX: 2440), a publicly listed company founded by the team behind 9GAG, a global social platform with over 200 million users worldwide. Since becoming part of MemeStrategy in September 2025, Grade10 has embarked on a new phase of growth, positioning Hong Kong as the trading card festival’s annual home and establishing Grade10 as the leading touring event for collectible trading cards and related cultural treasures across Asia. In the collecting world, “Grade 10” signifies the highest standard of excellence. True to its name, the Grade10 Card Show brings fresh energy and opportunities to Asia’s collectibles market – offering passionate enthusiasts a vibrant platform to connect, exchange, and showcase their prized collections, while exploring new horizons together with fellow collectors.
Media OutReach
Asian Financial Forum concludes successfully in Hong Kong, gathering over 4,000 global business leaders and officials
A new Global Business Summit was held throughout day-two of the AFF yesterday, to further integrate finance with key industries and drive innovation and economic development.
Co-organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the HKSAR Government, the HKTDC, and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, the summit explored how finance empowers businesses. It also examined how Hong Kong can support Chinese Mainland enterprises to “go global”, and the prospects for foreign enterprises entering the Mainland market.
In his opening remarks at the summit, Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, highlighted trade, finance and innovation and technology as the three principal drivers of future economic growth.
“Hong Kong is not just a platform that connects capital, market, projects, talent and opportunity. Hong Kong is willing to be a strategic partner to help you grow, scale up and go global,” Mr Chan said.
On building a more vibrant tech ecosystem, Mr Chan said the HKSAR Government is determined to attract the world’s leading frontier-technology enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong.
“We welcome technology and industrial enterprises to establish a presence in the Northern Metropolis. Where justified, we are prepared to tailor incentive packages, which may include land grants, premium concessions, tax incentives and other facilitation measures. Everything is negotiable,” he said.
Prof Frederick Ma, Chairman of the HKTDC, in his welcome remarks at the summit, said: “In these unpredictable times, working together on shared goals adds to the agility and resilience of our economies, our industries and businesses, and our communities. Hong Kong, under the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement, is perfectly suited to host these conversations and promote cross-sector collaboration, as a super connector, super value-adder and super collaborator.”
A series of plenary sessions held during the summit included the Business Plenary I – Chinese Mainland Enterprises Going Global, and Business Plenary II – Strategic Collaboration for Shared Growth, focusing on the latest opportunities in global market expansion and inbound foreign investment.
The Global Business Summit also featured a series of discussion sessions covering high‑growth, high‑value sectors, including biomedicine and healthcare, green energy, new consumer trends, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Speakers included representatives of prominent enterprises in the respective fields, such as Banking Circle, Infineon AG, Investcorp, JP Morgan, Revolut, Triton Partners, Amgen, Merck, DexForce Technology, JD.com, Pictet Group, AI² Robotics, Galbot and Tencent.
Paul Polman, a business leader, investor and philanthropist who is dedicated to advocating for systemic change, climate action, and social equality, delivered the Keynote Luncheon speech (January 27). He shared his “Net Positive” corporate sustainability strategy, which he has championed in recent years, focusing on advancing sustainable development.
Meanwhile, this year’s AFF Deal-making session, co-organised by the HKTDC and the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, attracted over 280 investors and over 600 investment projects, resulting in more than 800 one-on-one meetings that successfully connected global capital with investment opportunities.
The AFF also marked the start of this year’s International Financial Week, featuring14 industry events that span a wide range of globally watched financial and business topics, including ASEAN opportunities, digital finance, green finance, family offices, private equity and alternative investments. Together, these events underscore Hong Kong’s unique role as the region’s most comprehensive and diversified international financial centre.
Hashtag: #hongkong #brandhongkong #AFF #Finance #Business #Economic
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CGTN’s special feature focuses on Europe’s push for strategic autonomy amid global shifts.
BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 28 January 2026 – In an era defined by geopolitical recalibration, Europe stands at a pivotal juncture, grappling with the urgent need for strategic autonomy and reassessing its alliances. A chorus of European policymakers, thought leaders, and international observers analyzed the continent’s pathway forward as it adapts to a new global reality marked by evolving external dynamics.
The call for European independence has never been more pronounced. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has declared that this is Europe’s Independence Moment, highlighting the need for Europe to ensure its own defense. Hillary Mann Leverett, CEO of STRATEGA echoes that “Europe is going through a very difficult time”, noting the need for patience and effort to navigate current crises.
The quest for autonomy is driven by multifaceted challenges. An ongoing energy crisis, caused by the conflict in Ukraine, has seen electricity prices in major European economies soar to several times those in the US, straining industrial production and daily life.
Europe is even more tested as transatlantic relations shift. French Senator Thierry Meissen says that “today, we must accept that the United States will prioritize its own interests.” European Council President Antonio Costa also acknowledged this new reality, stating “we already know that Europe and the United States do not share the same vision of the international order.”
In response, Europe is mobilizing resources to build self-reliance. The EU has committed substantial investment to develop its defense. Ursula von der Leyen outlines plans enabling up to 800 billion euros in defense investment by 2030. And analysts from the Bruegel think tank estimate that true strategic autonomy would require an additional 250 billion euros annually and 300,000 more troops. Additionally, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas identified joint procurement as a critical hurdle to overcome.
Facing this strategic shift, Europe is actively exploring diversified global partnerships to ensure stability and growth. Former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also highlighted that “China and Europe together make more than one-third of all world trade.” He warned against isolation, stating “if we don’t stick together…we go into a certain depression.”
The potential for cooperation spans critical domains. In science, collaboration has evolved into a two-way street between China and European peers. The EU’s ‘Choose Europe’ package, a 500-million-euro incentive to attract global scientific talent, also contrasts with funding uncertainties in the United States, creating new avenues for scientific talents. On the green transition, synergies are evident. China’s leadership in clean-energy industries complements Europe’s Green Deal ambitions, presenting a vast cooperative canvas.
Yet, this reorientation is complex. Europe needs to balance its deep historical and economic ties with the United States with the opportunities presented by a rising China. Professor Cui Hongjian of Beijing Foreign Studies University noted the EU’s dilemma, finding it “very difficult to make a clear choice between China and the US.” Jens Eskelund, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, advocated for a relationship judged on its own merits. “We shouldn’t let our relationship be defined by a third party.”
The path to act on its own terms is further complicated by new economic realities. China’s rapid advancement has altered dynamics. “The perspective on who is learning from whom has been dramatically changing,” said Professor Eberhard Sandschneider of the Free University of Berlin. This new reality has spurred debates on “derisking”, which leaders caution could fragment supply chains, increase costs, and forsake mutual benefits. Alex Frederiksen, CEO of Vivino, advised focusing on long-term practical matters over short-term headlines, saying China is “unbeatable” in terms of density of high-quality companies.
Ultimately, European leaders are tasked with navigating a fundamental strategic question. Romano Prodi argued that the relationship must evolve from being neither enemies nor brothers toward becoming “equal partners and almost brothers.”
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-01-27/Europe-on-its-own-terms-Adapting-a-new-global-reality-1Khw2WpZ2Fy/p.html
Hashtag: #CGTN
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Media OutReach
UnionPay Enables 25 International Wallets to Support Weixin Pay QR Code in China’ Mainland
Since launching in December 2024, the program’s coverage has steadily broadened. As more UnionPay-Partnered international digital wallets join the network, a growing number of visitors to China can enjoy a smoother payment experience.
A Milestone In UnionPay’s Project Excellence
The cooperation between UnionPay International and Weixin Pay marks the latest milestone in UnionPay’s Project Excellence. Under Project Excellence, over 200 e-wallets across 37 countries and regions outside China’s mainland can link to locally issued UnionPay cards.
To further enhance the payment experience for overseas visitors to China, UnionPay has also launched the SplendorPlus Card, a product specially designed to meet inbound travelers’ unique needs.
In 2025, the number of QR code transactions made in China’s mainland using UnionPay-partnered e-wallets issued outside the Chinese mainland increased by 100% year on year, while the value of these transactions increased by 75%.
Hashtag: #UnionPay
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