CTCA and TCID Announce Strategic Partnership to Build a Safer, Smarter, Stronger Hobby Ecosystem

WENTZVILLE, Mo. - EntSun -- The Certified Trading Card Association (CTCA), the first and only national trade association dedicated to the trading card industry, today announced a strategic partnership with Trading Card Identification Number (TCID), an emerging open identifier standard designed to create a neutral, permanent identification system for trading cards.

Together, CTCA and TCID will explore opportunities to strengthen trust, transparency, and interoperability across the hobby by helping create a stronger foundation for collectors, marketplaces, grading companies, insurers, technology providers, retailers, and other stakeholders.

TCID is building an open identifier framework intended to assign a stable, permanent identifier to every distinct trading card type, helping various platforms and participants across the hobby "speak the same language" when referencing cards. The initiative is being structured with independent governance principles to support long-term neutrality and industry-wide adoption.

"As the hobby continues to grow, so does the need for better infrastructure, greater transparency, and more collaboration across the ecosystem," said Nick Jarman, Founder & CEO of the Certified Trading Card Association (CTCA). "At CTCA, we believe a safer, smarter, stronger hobby requires foundational systems that help reduce friction, improve trust, and support innovation. TCID represents a forward-thinking effort to create a common language for the hobby, and we are excited to work together to explore what that future can look like."

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The partnership will focus on evaluating ways CTCA and TCID can collaborate on:

• Industry Standards & Best Practices — Supporting broader dialogue around standardization, interoperability, and trusted infrastructure.
• Collector Protection & Transparency — Exploring how identification systems may complement hobby safety initiatives, provenance efforts, and transparency solutions.
• Technology & Ecosystem Collaboration — Encouraging thoughtful collaboration between marketplaces, grading companies, hobby technology providers, and other stakeholders.
• Long-Term Hobby Infrastructure — Helping support the development of systems designed to make participation in the hobby easier, safer, and more connected.

"Trading cards deserve foundational infrastructure that enables every participant in the ecosystem to work from a shared reference point," said Joe Liebetrau, Founder of TCID. "We believe collaboration across the hobby is essential, and we are excited to work alongside CTCA as we continue developing a neutral identification standard for the trading card industry."

The partnership reflects both organizations' shared belief that the future of the hobby depends on proactive leadership, industry cooperation, and long-term thinking.

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As the collectibles industry continues to evolve, CTCA and TCID believe collaboration—not fragmentation—will be essential in creating a more trusted and sustainable future for collectors and businesses alike.

About the Certified Trading Card Association (CTCA)

The Certified Trading Card Association (CTCA) is the first and only national trade association dedicated to the trading card industry. Founded to create a Safer. Smarter. Stronger. hobby ecosystem, CTCA brings together businesses, collectors, creators, retailers, grading companies, marketplaces, and technology providers to advance standards, trust, education, protection, and industry collaboration.

Learn more at www.thectca.org

About Trading Card Identification Number (TCID)

Trading Card Identification Number (TCID) is an open identifier standard designed to assign a stable, permanent identifier to every distinct trading card type. TCID seeks to provide foundational infrastructure that enables marketplaces, grading companies, insurers, collectors, and technology providers to reference cards through a common identifier system.

Learn more at www.tradingcardid.org