Why is LABUBU, the meme coin derived from Labubu toys, on the verge of extinction?

Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Pop Mart, the company that produced Labubu, saw its share price soar 10 times in 2024, with a rise of more than 200% so far this year, and a market value of more than HK$350 billion. Its founder Wang Ning has thus become the new 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 Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas revenue accounting for more than 38%. Its eponymous Meme coin LABUBU was once in the limelight, but today its market value has fallen below US$28 million, now at US$27.89 million, a 24-hour drop of 20.4%.

What is Labubu? What is its relationship with the crypto industry? Why is it so popular? Why is the Meme coin LABUBU on the verge of extinction?

I. What is Labubu? What is its relationship with the crypto industry?

Labubu is a plush toy of an elf character with a playful yet slightly fierce appearance. Its features include a round, furry body, wide-open eyes, pointy ears, and nine sharp teeth forming a mischievous smile.

Labubu is a character designed by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised artist Lung Ka-shing. Lung Ka-shing created the "The Monsters" story series, which was inspired by the Nordic folklore and mythology he loved as a child.  Long Jiasheng initially drew his designs with a fountain pen, and his love of fairy tales eventually led him to draw Labubu and his friends, according to a 2024 CNA Lifestyle report.

Labubu made its debut in 2015 and gained wider attention after partnering with Pop Mart in 2019.

According to Pop Mart's interim report released on August 20, 2024, the "The Monsters" series generated sales of 6.3 billion yuan in the first half of that year.

In April 2025, Pop Mart launched Labubu's third-generation vinyl plush products, and a large number of customers lined up to buy them in Pop Mart stores in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, and there was even a phenomenon of high-priced resale in mainland China.

On May 29, 2025, the eponymous Meme coin LABUBU was launched. Although LABUBU had set off a wave of hype, it ultimately could not escape the fate of falling back.

On June 10, 2025, Beijing Yongle Auction held a Labubu art auction. A Labubu with a similar appearance to a real person was sold for RMB 1.08 million, and the total transaction amount reached RMB 3.73 million.

Second, why did Labubu set off a craze?

First of all, The popularity of Labubu is inseparable from its sales method - blind box. Customers don’t know what style they’ve bought until they open the package. Pop Mart’s blind box sales model adds excitement and uncertainty to purchases, prompting players to repeat purchases in pursuit of rare styles, pushing up the secondary market prices of some popular styles.

Veteran blind box collector Desmond Tan said the element of surprise is a big draw. He walks around Pop Mart stores, shaking the boxes vigorously before deciding which one to buy. This is common at Pop Mart. Desmond collects “chaser” blind boxes, special editions of Pop Mart’s various series of toys, including Laboo. Desmond said that on average, for every 10 boxes purchased, one chaser can be found. Compared to the usual one percent probability, this probability is quite high. “Being able to shake the box to get the chaser, learning how to feel the difference… If I can succeed in just one or two tries, I’ll be happy!”

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

Xinhua News Agency once pointed out the three main reasons for Labubu’s popularity: Labubu is a cross-cultural global consumer product; patient accumulation 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 curse of plummeting

Meme coins are characterized by high entertainment, virality and community-driven. Usually lacking actual use cases and technical support, prices are greatly affected by market sentiment and community hype, and are extremely volatile. 

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

LABUBU's plummet has actually been a lesson learned before. The most similar 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 the current Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz. In May 2023, after completing a $9 million fundraising, Fat Penguin began selling physical toys Pudgy Toy online.

At the end of September 2023, Pudgy Toy was listed in 2,000 Walmart stores in the United States, expanding the brand of NFT IP Fat Penguin to the huge consumer market. This move has brought dividends to Fat Penguin. 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 very popular. On December 16, 2024, Pudgy Penguins set a best record of 34.8ETH, but now the price is only 8.9ETH.

Its Meme coin PENGU hit a record high of $0.0428 on January 7, 2025. In less than half a year, PENGU is now trading at $0.009369, down 78%.

In addition, similar to it are the Bored Ape series. As early as 2021, NBA star Stephen Curry spent $180,000 (55 Ethereum) to buy a BAYC NFT wearing a rough floral suit. In the same year, payment technology giant Visa purchased CryptoPunk No. 7610, a female head with a Mohawk hairstyle, clown green eyes and lipstick, for 49.50 Ethereum (worth $150,000 at the time of purchase).

However, after reaching a peak price of 153.7ETH in May 2022, Bored Ape has fallen all the way to the current 11.55ETH.

CryptoPunks has fallen from a high of more than 125ETH in 2021 to the current 41ETH.

It can be seen that whether it is the fat penguin with physical toys or the boring ape and CryptoPunks that are limited to digital assets, they all fell sharply after their heyday. Not to mention the meme coin LABUBU that only takes advantage of the popularity of physical toys.

The rapid rise and fall of LABUBU's price is due to its high speculation and lack of practicality. Even though Pop Mart's physical Labubu toys are popular, when the market craze subsides, the false prosperity that has no actual value support and relies on hype will eventually collapse. This is the essence of Meme coin "born out of speculation and died due to the bursting of the value bubble."