Labubu toys became popular while the cryptocurrency LABUBU experienced a big dump. The fate of physical and digital assets is vastly different.

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The Rise and Fall of Labubu: From Physical Toys to the Fluctuations of Crypto Assets

The Labubu toys under Pop Mart have created a craze in 2024, with the company's stock price soaring over 200%, and its market value surpassing HKD 350 billion. As of the end of 2023, the company had 401 stores in mainland China, and 130 stores in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas regions, covering more than 30 countries and regions, with overseas revenue accounting for over 38%. The similarly named Crypto Asset LABUBU was once quite popular, but its market value has now dropped to USD 27.89 million, a decline of 20.4% in 24 hours.

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The Origin and Development of Labubu

Labubu is a uniquely shaped sprite toy, with a round and cute appearance that also has a hint of fierceness. It has a fluffy body, large eyes, pointed ears, and a mischievous smile made up of nine sharp teeth. This character was designed by artist Long Jia Sheng, who was born in Hong Kong and raised in the Netherlands, inspired by Nordic folklore and mythology.

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Labubu made its debut in 2015 and quickly gained popularity after collaborating with Pop Mart in 2019. In the first half of 2024, the "The Monsters" series to which Labubu belongs generated sales of 6.3 billion RMB for the company. In April 2025, the third generation of Labubu products sparked a purchasing frenzy in multiple locations around the globe. In May of the same year, the crypto asset LABUBU emerged, briefly attracting market attention. In June, a Labubu art auction achieved a total transaction amount of 3.73 million RMB, with one piece fetching as much as 1.08 million RMB.

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Reasons for Labubu's Popularity

Labubu's success is mainly attributed to two factors:

  1. Unique sales model: Adopting a blind box format, it increases the excitement and uncertainty of purchases, attracting consumers to buy repeatedly in order to obtain rare styles.

  2. Excellent cultural and creative IP: transcending cultural boundaries, while being recognized by Asian culture and loved by Western celebrities.

In addition, Labubu also reflects China's complete industrial chain and mature industrial ecological advantages.

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The Rise and Fall of Crypto Assets

Despite the popularity of Labubu physical toys, its namesake crypto asset LABUBU has not escaped the fate of a sharp decline. This phenomenon is not uncommon in the crypto asset market, with similar cases including Pudgy Penguins(, BAYC), and CryptoPunks, among others.

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The fat penguin once achieved considerable sales after launching physical toys, but both its NFT and Crypto Assets prices have significantly declined. Although Bored Apes and CryptoPunks were once sought after by celebrities, leading to soaring prices, they subsequently experienced a severe drop.

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These cases show that even with support from physical products or the endorsement of celebrities, the speculative nature of the Crypto Assets market is still difficult to change. When market enthusiasm wanes, assets lacking actual value support often face the risk of sharp depreciation.

The price fluctuations of LABUBU are a typical manifestation of this phenomenon. Despite leveraging the popularity of physical toys, it is ultimately difficult to maintain its market position due to a lack of substantial applications and value. This reaffirms the essential characteristic of Meme coins, which are "born from speculation and die from bubble bursts."

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SnapshotBotvip
· 7h ago
The real suckers harvester.
View OriginalReply0
WalletDetectivevip
· 7h ago
Another new sucker harvester
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Deconstructionistvip
· 7h ago
The suckers have all been played for suckers, can it still rise?
View OriginalReply0
RunWhenCutvip
· 7h ago
play people for suckers and run, don't think too much
View OriginalReply0
ponzi_poetvip
· 7h ago
This mystery box also has coins? That's amazing.
View OriginalReply0
BtcDailyResearchervip
· 7h ago
The toy is hot, but the Token crashed. I'm dying of laughter.
View OriginalReply0
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