UAE: Emirati company introduces region’s first 1-of-1 collectible video cards

An Emirati-founded collectibles authentication company says the Middle East is ready for its own grading ecosystem — and for a new category altogether: turning digital videos and NFTs into one-of-one physical collectible cards.

Hit Grading, which describes itself as the region’s first hybrid AI-and-conventional card grading company, has signed an agreement with short-form video platform recrd.com to produce premium physical cards linked to digital content assets. The innovation, both founders said, targets a rapidly expanding community of sports, anime and pop-culture collectors across the Middle East and South Asia.

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Dr Rashed Al Farooq, founder of Hit Grading, said the move responds to a market that already sends “about $300 million worth of business… to America every year” for grading. “We thought, why don’t we do this here? There’s nobody else doing it,” he explained, emphasising that the company is a “home-grown Emirati company” and the first of its kind in the region.

He added that collectors are increasingly seeking “niche stuff” beyond mainstream Pokémon and sports cards. The new collaboration allows the companies to create “unique 1-of-1 cards” linked to videos — and in some cases signed by players or creators.

Recrd.com founder Anoir Houmou said turning videos into collectibles is part of his platform’s wider push to help creators monetise short-form content. “If I buy someone’s video, I can now own the card associated with that video,” he explained. Blockchain ensures each card exists as a singular asset: “It’s only 1 of 1.”

He said the card market globally is a multi-billion-dollar industry rooted in the sports world, and the new card format brings that logic to digital-first creators.

A grading bottleneck collectors struggle with

Much of the appeal, according to Dr Al Farooq, comes from solving a longstanding regional pain point: slow, costly overseas grading. Sending cards to major US graders can take “three to six months” and cost around “$100”, he said. Hit Grading returns cards “in 15 days” — or “the same day” for some in-person cases — at a flat rate of “$10 to $15”, without upcharges tied to card value.

For collectors in India, Pakistan and neighbouring countries, this eliminates the risk and uncertainty of shipping overseas. Many already fly to the UAE to submit cards directly. “Imagine them sending their stuff to America — things getting lost, not getting the stuff back,” he said. Instead, a collector can “take a quick flight here, bring 100 cards, grade [them]… and sit back on your flight back home.”

He said Hit Grading has already graded “over 10,000 cards in the last four months,” fuelled by a demographic he describes as “a lot of ATAs” — fans deeply engaged in anime, gaming, and niche pop culture.

Recrd.com scaling its digital audience

Houmou said recrd.com reached 8 million users last month, and the new partnership fits the platform’s core proposition: enabling creators to earn money from short video formats that traditionally generate limited revenue. “Through Hit Grading, it’s only natural to offer this,” he said. “It’s brand new — where you can buy someone’s video and own the card.”

Haneen Dajani

haneen@khaleejtimes.com

Haneen Dajani is special correspondent in Abu Dhabi with over 15 years of reporting experience. She’s also a passionate athlete, full Ironman finisher, and mountaineer who loves to embark on unusual challenges.