Why is the Meme currency LABUBU, derived from Labubu toys, on the verge of extinction?

Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Labubu's producer Pop Mart's stock price soared 10 times in 2024, with a market value of more than 200% this year, with a market value of more than HK$350 billion. Founder Wang Ning has also become the richest man in Henan, China. As of the end of last year, the company had 401 stores in mainland China, 130 stores in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas (including joint ventures), covering more than 30 countries and regions, with revenues from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas accounting for more than 38%. The Meme coin of the same name, LABUBU, was once a hit, but its market value has fallen below $28 million today, and is now at $27.89 million, a 24-hour drop of 20.4%.

What is Labubu? What does it have to do with the crypto industry? Why can it be so popular? Why is the Meme currency LABUBU on the verge of extinction?

1. What is Labubu? What does it have to do with the crypto industry?

Labubu is a plush toy for the elves character, with a playful and slightly fierce appearance. Its characteristics include a round, furry body, wide wide eyes, pointed ears, and nine sharp teeth to form a naughty smile.

Labubu is designed by the character of Long Jiasheng, a Hong Kong-born and raised in the Netherlands. Long Jiasheng created the "The Monsters" story series, inspired by Nordic folklore and myths he loved in his childhood. According to the 2024 CNA Lifestyle report, Long Jiasheng initially painted his designs with a fountain pen, and his love for fairy tales eventually prompted him to paint Labubu and his friends.

Labubu made his debut in 2015 and has gained wider attention after working with Pop Mart in 2019.

According to an interim report released by Pop Mart on August 20, 2024, the "The Monsters" series generated RMB 6.3 billion in sales in the first half of the year.

In April 2025, Pop Mart launched the third-generation rubber-entropy plush product of Labub. A large number of customers lined up to buy it in Pop Mart stores in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, and there was a phenomenon of high-priced reselling in mainland China.

On May 29, 2025, the Meme coin of the same name, LABUBU, was released. Although LABUBU has set off a wave of hype, it is difficult to escape the fate of decline.

On June 10, 2025, Beijing Yongle Auction held a Labub art auction. A Labub with a similar appearance to a real person was sold for RMB 1.08 million, with a total transaction volume of RMB 3.73 million .

2. Why did Labubu start a frenzy?

First of all, Labubu 's popularity is closely related to its sales method - blind boxes. Customers can only know what style they bought if they open the packaging. Pop Mart adopts a blind box sales model, which increases the stimulation and uncertainty of purchases, allowing players to continue to purchase repeatedly in order to pursue rare models, thereby pushing up the secondary market prices of some popular models.

Senior blind box collector Desmond Tan said that blind boxes with this surprise element are a big attraction. He would walk around the Pop Mart store, shaking the blind box hard before deciding which one to buy. This is very common in Pop Mart. Desmond collects "chaser" blind boxes, a special edition of Pop Mart's series of toys, including Rabboo. Desmond said that on average, every 10 boxes you buy, you can find a chaser. Compared to the usual one percent probability, this probability is quite high. “Being able to get chasers by shaking the box, learn how to feel the difference…I’d be happy if I could succeed just one or two try!”

Secondly, Labubu is an excellent cultural and creative IP. According to Forbes, citing Deutsche Bank's analysis report, few IPs can break cultural barriers and are both accepted by Asian culture and loved by Western pop music and sports stars.

Xinhua News Agency once pointed out the three major reasons for Labubu 's popularity: Labubu is a cross-cultural global consumer product; patience precipitation and innovative breakthroughs in product creation and promotion; China has a complete industrial chain and a mature industrial ecology.

3. Memes related to physical toys still cannot escape the plunge curse

Meme coins are characterized by high entertainment, virality and community- driven. Usually there is a lack of actual use cases and technical support, and prices are greatly affected by market sentiment and community speculation, and are extremely volatile.

Although LABUBU is also a product of speculation, it is still somewhat different from traditional Meme coins - after all, LABUBU has taken advantage of the popularity of Labubu physical blind box toys, but LABUBU still cannot escape the plunge of Meme coins.

LABUBU's plunge has actually been learned from the past. The most similar one to LABUBU is Fat Penguin - it has issued NFTs, Meme coins, and physical toys.

In July 2021, a group of college students founded Pudgy Penguins. In April 2022, Pudgy Penguins was sold to Luca Netz, now CEO of Pudgy Penguins. In May 2023, Fat Penguin began selling physical toys Pudgy Toy online after completing a $9 million fundraising.

At the end of September 2023, Pudgy Toy was launched in 2,000 Walmart stores in the United States, expanding the brand of NFT IP Fat Penguin to a huge consumer market. This move made the fat penguin get a bonus. According to Decrypt, the Pudgy Toys series has achieved sales of $10 million in less than a year, with sales of more than 750,000.

Pudgy Penguins was once popular. On December 16, 2024, Pudgy Penguins set the best record of 34.8ETH, but now the price is only 8.9ETH.

Its Meme currency PENGU set its best record of US$0.0428 on January 7, 2025. In less than half a year, PENGU is now at US$0.009369, a drop of 78%.

In addition, similar ones are the Boring Ape series. Back in 2021, NBA popular star Stephen Curry spent $180,000 (55 Ethereum) to buy a BAYC NFT in a thick suit. In the same year, payment technology giant Visa bought the CryptoPunk 7610 for 49.50 Ethereum (worth $150,000 at the time of purchase), a female avatar with a mohawk hairstyle, clown green eyes and lipstick.

However, after Bored Ape reached its peak price of 153.7 ETH in May 2022, it has dropped all the way to the current 11.55 ETH.

CryptoPunks fell from its high of more than 125 ETH in 2021 to its current 41 ETH.

It can be seen that whether it is a fat penguin with physical toys or a boring ape that is limited to the digital asset category, CryptoPunks, they are all unable to escape the fate of plummeting after their prosperity and glory. Not to mention the Meme coin LABUBU, which only takes advantage of the popularity of physical toys.

The rapid price rise and fall of LABUBU is due to its high speculativeness and lack of practicality. Even if Pop Mart's physical Labubu toys are in full swing, when the market craze fades away, the false prosperity without actual value support and relying on hype will eventually collapse. This is the essential portrayal of Meme's "born due to speculation and disappearance due to the bursting and extinction of the value bubble."