Quantum Exchange
$140B base cost · $1.60M/sec
Business Overview
Earning in every timeline.
Tier one of your empire's starter-stage staple, the Quantum Exchange rewards players who buy it in bulk rather than one at a time.
Cost Scaling
Every business in Tycoon Cards uses the same cost curve: each copy costs 15% more than the last. For the Quantum Exchange, that looks like this:
| Copies owned | Cost of next copy | Total spent to reach this many |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $161B | $140B |
| 10 | $566B | $2.84T |
| 25 | $4.61T | $29.8T |
| 50 | $152T | $1.01Qa |
| 100 | $164Qa | $1.10Qi |
Income Scaling
Income scales linearly with copies owned — no diminishing returns, ever. Owning more of the Quantum Exchange always earns proportionally more:
| Copies owned | Income per second |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1.60M/s |
| 10 | $16.0M/s |
| 25 | $40.0M/s |
| 50 | $80.0M/s |
| 100 | $160M/s |
Profit Calculations
| Payback period (1st copy) | 87,500 seconds |
| Income per dollar spent | $0.0/s per $1 |
| Efficient switch point | Around copy #4 (when the next copy costs more than Coffee Shop) |
See the Business Tier List for how this business ranks against all other 99 tiers by payback period.
Unlock Requirements
There is no gating system on businesses in Tycoon Cards — the Quantum Exchange is available to purchase from the very start of any run, the moment you can afford its $140B base cost. The only realistic "requirement" is reaching that amount of money, either by clicking, by owning cheaper businesses, or by carrying prestige and card bonuses from a previous run.
Best Upgrades
Individual businesses don't have their own upgrade trees in Tycoon Cards — the Quantum Exchange always earns exactly $1.60M per copy at base rate. What actually "upgrades" its value are the game's shared systems: levelling supporting cards (below), earning achievement bonuses, and increasing your prestige multiplier. Each of these applies as a percentage on top of every business you own, including this one.
Best Supporting Cards
At this tier, cost-reduction cards give the best return — you'll buy many copies of this business, so every percentage off compounds across dozens of purchases. All-income cards are a strong secondary pick.
Prestige Recommendations
This tier is typically the very first business you rebuy after every prestige reset — its low cost means you'll be back to owning dozens of copies within moments of a fresh run.
Read the full Prestige Guide for general reset timing, or the Prestige Point Planning guide to calculate exactly how many points your next reset will earn.
Research Interactions
Tycoon Cards does not currently include a research-tree system — the Quantum Exchange cannot be researched or unlocked through any mechanic beyond simply affording it. A research tree is listed as a possible future system on our Updates & Roadmap page; this section will be updated if that ever changes.
Evolution Path (Tier Progression)
Businesses in Tycoon Cards don't evolve or transform — each tier is a permanent, independent business. What we can show honestly is this business's place in the overall 100-tier progression:
- Previous tier: 🚀 Space Company ($10.0B base cost)
- This tier: 🌌 Quantum Exchange ($140B base cost)
- Next tier: ☕ Coffee Shop ($217B base cost)
Visual Progression
The five tiers surrounding the Quantum Exchange in the business roster:
Best Strategies
- Buy this tier aggressively and in bulk — at this cost level, ten cheap copies almost always beat saving for a single copy of the next tier.
- Use the x10 or x100 buy buttons once you can afford them, rather than purchasing one copy at a time.
- Remember that all businesses share the same 15%-per-copy cost curve, so the fundamental buy/hold maths never changes — only the absolute numbers do.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the Quantum Exchange cost?
+
How much does the Quantum Exchange cost?
+The first copy costs 140,000,000,000 in-game dollars. Each subsequent copy costs 15% more than the last, following the same cost curve used by every business in Tycoon Cards.
How much does the Quantum Exchange earn?
+
How much does the Quantum Exchange earn?
+Each copy of the Quantum Exchange earns 1,600,000 per second, before any card, achievement, or prestige bonuses are applied.
How long does it take for the Quantum Exchange to pay for itself?
+
How long does it take for the Quantum Exchange to pay for itself?
+At base rates, one copy pays back its own cost in approximately 87,500 seconds — though bonuses from cards and prestige typically shorten this in practice.
When should I switch from the Quantum Exchange to Coffee Shop?
+
When should I switch from the Quantum Exchange to Coffee Shop?
+Once you own around 4 copies of the Quantum Exchange, the cost of your next copy will exceed Coffee Shop's base price — a reasonable signal to start diversifying into that tier instead.
Does prestige reset my Quantum Exchange count?
+
Does prestige reset my Quantum Exchange count?
+Yes. Prestiging resets all business ownership, including the Quantum Exchange, back to zero. However, any cards or achievements that boost this business's income remain permanently in effect on your next run.
Related Businesses
Related Guides
- Business Guide — full roster, cost curves and buy order
- Business Tier List — every business ranked by return on investment
- Economy Guide — how growth curves and inflation work game-wide
- Prestige Guide — when and how to reset for permanent bonuses
Changelog
- v1.0.0 (January 2026) — Available since the original Tycoon Cards release.
Business data verified against the live game configuration · Part of the 100-business encyclopedia · Written by the Tycoon Cards development team