The New Consensus of Young People: Labubu, CS Accessories and memes

"You might not believe it, but it's because I like Labubu that I've become the sales champion of the store this month," Jiani, a sales representative for a luxury handbag brand, and also a fervent enthusiast of trendy toys, candidly shared her sales secret:

"Instead of complimenting how good their bags look, it's better to praise the Labubu effect hanging on their bags; the customer will feel that you really understand them."

This is the sixth year of collaboration between Labubu and Pop Mart. As early as around 2020, it had already caused a sensation in the Chinese market. However, what truly made this trendy toy explode internationally was a series of street photos that began last year, where BLACKPINK member Lisa started to hang it on some luxury bags.

As a result, more and more top celebrities have started to showcase their Labubu. Five years later, this IP has swept through the entire fashion scene in Southeast Asia and Europe and the United States, even making it onto the covers of foreign fashion media: "Is LABUBU the most popular bag accessory of 2025?"

Global fashion icon Rihanna hung a pink Labubu on her tote bag from a certain brand at the airport; the pop music award collector and the new generation international fashion darling Dua Lipa showcased two Labubu on her orange handbag on IG, becoming a trending topic; Lisa's name is well-known among young people in China, and her Instagram Story often features a wall full of Labubu collectibles, making her a wild brand ambassador for Labubu.

For ordinary people, it doesn't matter if they can't afford luxury bags. A Labubu that costs less than 200 yuan can get them a celebrity's style and even participate in the social consensus of the top fashion circles.

If you're lucky enough to draw a hidden version with less than a 1% chance, the price can multiply by more than ten times; even if you get a regular version, hanging it on your bag, posting it in your social circle, and showcasing it on Xiaohongshu can still provide emotional value and social validation.

"There are actually many tricks to buying different hidden versions. Does the shaking sound make a rustling noise? Does it feel a bit hard when touched from the side? There are also subtle differences in weight." Jiani relies on her ability to identify hidden versions, and while everyone else fails to purchase them, she is able to secure them for her clients.

In fact, this is not Labubu's first moment in the spotlight. Around 2020, Labubu experienced its first breakout moment. The blind box culture quickly swept the Z generation, satisfying individual expression while sparking a debate about "scarcity." The joy of pulling a hidden version is akin to hitting the jackpot. In the secondary market, some Labubu items have surged from hundreds to thousands of yuan, and unboxing videos featuring "pulling hidden" have become phenomenon-level content on social media platforms.

In a sense, Labubu is no longer a toy; rather, it is a financial product that can be priced, speculated on, and circulated.

Interestingly, around 2020, during the peak popularity of Labubu, another financial product with a trendy cultural IP was also exceptionally hot in a more virtual space------NFT, which is probably very familiar to friends in the coin circle.

The climax of NFTs came during an auction on March 11, 2021, when renowned artist Beeple's NFT work was sold at an auction house, with the price finalizing at 69.34 million USD at the last second. This NFT work became the 53rd most expensive artwork in the world, and Beeple entered the top three in the value rankings among living artists.

The internet also provided a perfect assist for NFTs. It is no coincidence that the two largest social platforms on this planet are simultaneously focusing on augmented reality and virtual reality ( AR/VR ). They envision the future internet as the Metaverse (, a world where the virtual and the real can seamlessly connect. The term NFT has been discussed multiple times in the context of the Metaverse, representing ownership. NFTs fit perfectly in the Metaverse.

In just a few months, the term "NFT" has landed around the world.

A famous American rapper with 5 million fans on a social media platform has released his own NFT; NBA championship team Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has issued an NFT; a dunk by superstar LeBron James was made into an NFT and sold for $250,000; top clubs like Barcelona and AC Milan also have their own NFTs.

In that round of NFT frenzy, the most representative IP is undoubtedly BAYC) Bored Ape(.

This avatar-type NFT project launched by Yuga Labs went live in the spring of 2021, initially priced at only 0.08 ETH), approximately 200 dollars(, and sold out within 24 hours. It quickly became popular as a social avatar on various platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.

Jimmy Fallon showcased his ape on his talk show, calling it "the identity symbol of the next era"; Snoop Dogg and Eminem performed together at the MTV awards ceremony with BAYC images; Justin Bieber spent $1.3 million to purchase a rare ape; top stars like Curry and Neymar are promoting it; artists like Jay Chou and Lin Junjie have also shared their BAYC avatars; the traditional finance circle has also been swept up in this trend: Meitu Inc.'s chairman Cai Wensheng and Sinovation Ventures partner Zhu Xiaohu are both holders.

A small image can showcase identity labels and "social assets".

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At the trading level, BAYC has pioneered the peak paradigm of NFT assetization: at its peak, a single one sold for as much as 400,000 USD ), roughly equivalent to 150 ETH (, with the floor price breaking 100 ETH, and the total trading volume across the network exceeding 1.5 billion USD.

NFT and Pop Mart are actually doing the same thing: using a seemingly toy-like medium to stimulate the desire to participate, express, and feel a sense of belonging within a certain circle.

Their process of "financial productization" is surprisingly similar: both have significant avatar/image recognition; both emphasize scarcity: rare editions, limited editions; both are tied to celebrity effects, triggering explosive popularity; both have formed a market structure that moves from "original price entry" to "secondary speculation."

Labubu is a physical NFT, and NFT is a more virtual Labubu.

However, after all, there is only one Wang Ning, and the NFT circle is still not mainstream enough. Starting from 2022, Labubu and the fate of NFTs gradually diverged.

In the second year of BAYC reaching its peak, the overall cryptocurrency market entered a downward cycle, and the myth of NFTs began to gradually cool down. BAYC, once the leader in NFTs, has also become a leader in declines—its floor price has dropped from 150 ETH to below 20 ETH, now only remaining at 13 ETH, equivalent to one-tenth of its peak value. Holders are gradually "getting off the avatar", and the once bustling community is slowly falling silent. The avatars that were once the "business cards" of the crypto world are now being ridiculed as the "on-chain ceiling trapped sign", all of which have at least lost 300,000 USD.

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And Labubu's fire burns brighter and brighter, firmly sitting at the top of the trendy toys list.

"The audience of Labubu overlaps surprisingly well with those who buy luxury bags," said Jiani. "Some customers were just browsing casually, but as soon as I see Labubu on their bags, the conversation flows and the distance disappears. We can chat for a long time, and in the end, the customers happily buy bags."

However, Jiani revealed that there are indeed girls who want to find a more suitable "carrier" for their beloved Labubu, and they enter a luxury store for the first time to buy their first designer bag. With the Labubu IP, Pop Mart, in its 15th year of establishment, surprisingly began to realize a reverse influence on the sales logic of luxury goods.

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Even in the capital market, there was a moment that seemed somewhat magical: the stock price of Pop Mart surged ahead, and its K-line in recent years looked almost identical to the 20-fold growth of Bitcoin in 2017, with a market value that even briefly surpassed that of the luxury goods giant Gucci's parent company.

Looking back, the Hong Kong artist Long Jiasheng, who created the Labubu character just ten years ago, probably couldn't have imagined that this somewhat "eerie" and furry spirit would now naturally become the most profitable IP for Pop Mart, completely surpassing the veteran IP MOLLY, becoming the undisputed center stage.

The Labubu co-branded model, originally priced at 599 yuan, can now be traded for 14,000 yuan in the secondary market, an increase of over 20 times; the trendy shoes co-branded with Vans have reached transaction prices of 2,000-3,000 USD in overseas markets, rivaling limited edition Yeezy; specific limited series ) such as "Big Into Energy" or the co-branded "Wings of Fortune" with Pronounce ( have seen prices soar due to aggressive design + regional investment restrictions ) such as limited editions in Thailand and Singapore (.

![The New Consensus of Young People: Labubu, CSGO, and memes])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-cb06dbda211ae3c21a5f51d0dac3d650.webp(

We have witnessed the same generation redefining "ownership" in two parallel universes.

In addition to "on-chain avatars" and "offline dolls", there is a more secretive, more enduring, and more actively traded "consensus asset market" ------ game skins in a larger virtual space.

Although CSGO has been remade and renamed to CS2, it has existed for more than 10 years before this, so when discussing the skins of this game, everyone still tends to casually use the name CSGO.

Half a month ago, the CS item market experienced a "crash". According to SteamDT's CS item sector index data, after about six months of a long bull market, the CS item market fell by 30% from its historical high within a week, almost equivalent to a "312" crash in the cryptocurrency world.

According to reports from a certain data platform, by the end of April this year, the total market value of the CS accessory market exceeded 4.5 billion USD. According to data from CS2 Case Tracker, in the first four months of 2025, over 113 million accessory cases were opened in the CS game. If we calculate based on each accessory case key costing 2.49 USD, players spent this amount just for opening CS accessories in the first four months of 2025 for Valve.