Deng Tong, Jinse Finance
Bubble Mart, the company behind Labubu, saw its stock price surge 10-fold in 2024, with a year-to-date increase of over 200%, and a market value exceeding 35 billion Hong Kong dollars. Founder Wang Ning has become the new richest person in Henan Province. By the end of last year, the company had 401 stores in mainland China and 130 stores in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas (including joint ventures), spanning over 30 countries and regions, with overseas revenue accounting for over 38%. Its eponymous meme coin LABUBU, once glorious, has now fallen to a market value of 27.89 million dollars, with a 24-hour decline of 20.4%.
What is Labubu? What is its relationship with the crypto industry? Why did it become so popular? Why is the meme coin LABUBU doomed to extinction?
I. What is Labubu? What is its relationship with the crypto industry?
Labubu is a plush toy character with a playful yet slightly fierce appearance. Its characteristics include a round, fluffy body, wide-open eyes, pointed ears, and nine sharp teeth forming a mischievous smile.
Labubu was designed by artist Long Jiasheng, born in Hong Kong and raised in the Netherlands. Long created 'The Monsters' story series, inspired by Nordic folk legends and myths from his childhood. According to a 2024 CNA Lifestyle report, Long initially drew his designs with a pen, and his love for fairy tales ultimately led him to create Labubu and his friends.
Labubu first appeared in 2015 and gained wider attention after collaborating with Bubble Mart in 2019.
According to Bubble Mart's interim report released on August 20, 2024, 'The Monsters' series generated 6.3 billion yuan in sales during the first half of that year.
In April 2025, Bubble Mart launched the third-generation Labubu soft toy, with long queues of customers in stores across the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan, and even high-price reselling in mainland China.
On May 29, 2025, the eponymous meme coin LABUBU was introduced, which, despite creating a speculative frenzy, ultimately could not escape its decline.
On June 10, 2025, Beijing Yongle Auction held a Labubu art auction, where a Labubu figure similar to a human sold for 1.08 million yuan, with a total transaction amount of 3.73 million yuan.
II. Why Did Labubu Create a Frenzy?
First, Labubu's popularity is inseparable from its sales method—blind boxes. Customers only know what style they've bought after opening the package. Bubble Mart's blind box sales model increased the excitement and uncertainty of purchasing, encouraging players to repeatedly buy in pursuit of rare editions, thereby driving up secondary market prices for popular styles.
[The rest of the translation continues in the same manner, maintaining the original structure and meaning while translating to English.]
The rapid rise and fall of LABUBU's price is due to its high speculative nature and lack of utility. Even though the physical Labubu toys from Bubble Mart are popular, when the market hype subsides, the false prosperity maintained by speculation and lacking actual value will ultimately collapse, which is a true portrayal of the nature of meme coins "born from speculation and perishing with the burst of value bubbles".
