Bristlecone VaultFrom physical card to digital token — and back again.
No crypto jargon. No wallet setup. Just five steps that explain how a card sitting in certified custody becomes something a collector can buy, sell, re-sell, and eventually claim — with everyone getting paid automatically along the way.
Dollar figures below are illustrative. Actual fees and royalty rates are set per drop.
The manufacturer mints
A card maker (the 'manufacturer') creates a set, sends the physical cards to certified custody, and signs an attestation. Once that's confirmed, the platform mints one token per card.
sitting in certified custody
each one representing one specific card
100 tokens available for sale
The physical cards never leave custody during this step. Each token is a tamper-proof receipt for one unit held by the custody partner — a record of custody, not an independent grading or authentication of the item.
A collector buys
A collector visits the marketplace, picks a card, and pays with a credit card. Stripe splits the payment instantly — the manufacturer gets paid, the platform takes its fee, and the token shows up in the collector's portfolio.
→ $5.25 platform fee (7%)
→ $69.75 to the manufacturer's bank
collector's portfolio
No shipping, no waiting, no risk of damage in transit. The collector owns the card; the card just hasn't moved.
The collector resells
When the collector wants to cash out, they list the token on the marketplace. Another collector buys it. The payment splits three ways — and the original manufacturer gets a royalty, automatically.
→ $2.85 platform fee (3%)
→ $4.75 manufacturer royalty (5%)
→ $87.40 to the seller's bank
Ownership history now shows two owners
The seller never ships anything. The buyer never waits for a package. The manufacturer earns a royalty without lifting a finger. This is the part that doesn't exist in the physical-only world.
And resells again. And again.
Every time the token changes hands, the same automatic split happens. The manufacturer earns a royalty on every single trade — forever. This is the perpetual income model that paper cards can never offer.
platform fee + manufacturer royalty + seller payout
in its permanent ownership history
This can repeat indefinitely. The manufacturer earns on trade #4, trade #40, and trade #400. The ownership chain just keeps growing.
Eventually, someone wants the card in their hands
At any point a token holder can claim the physical card. They pay a redemption fee, the token is burned (destroyed permanently), the manufacturer is notified, and the card ships.
and enters a shipping address
destroyed permanently on the blockchain
marks it shipped, adds a tracking number
Token #42 no longer exists.
Once a token is burned, that card is out of the digital ecosystem for good. The blockchain still shows it existed, who owned it, and that it was redeemed — but there's no token left to trade.
The whole picture
Three parties. One platform. Every dollar routed automatically.
Creates & earns forever
- · Mints tokens for cards in custody
- · Gets paid on every primary sale
- · Earns a royalty on every resale, automatically
- · Ships the card only if someone redeems
The rails
- · Mints, holds, and transfers the tokens
- · Splits every payment atomically
- · Records ownership history permanently
- · Handles redemptions and burns
Owns, trades, redeems
- · Buys tokens with a credit card
- · Sells instantly — no shipping, no escrow
- · Sees the full ownership history of every card
- · Can redeem the physical item anytime
Why trades happen here
A token could technically be moved to another marketplace. So why doesn't that happen? Because everything that makes the token valuable lives on Bristlecone Vault.
Trade somewhere else
- · Manufacturer royalty: not enforced
- · Platform fee: $0 — but no support either
- · Physical redemption: requires re-entering the system
- · Ownership history: fragmented
Trade on Bristlecone Vault
- · Manufacturer royalty: paid every time, automatically
- · Platform fee: covers settlement and custody coordination
- · Physical redemption: one click, anytime
- · Ownership history: clean, permanent, on-chain
The closed marketplace isn't a restriction — it's where the value lives. Collectors stay because it works better. Manufacturers send their fans here because they only earn royalties on trades that happen on the platform.
That's the whole model.
Curious why it matters? The Why Tokenize page covers the eight things tokenization actually changes for collectors and creators.