Labubu: From Toy Craze to the Rise and Fall of Virtual Money

Labubu, the elf character toy originating from the “The Monsters” series, has sparked a global craze with its unique appearance and sales model. Its round body, big eyes, and pointy ears, combined with a mischievous smile made up of nine sharp teeth, have successfully captured the attention of many consumers.

!7377605

This character, designed by artist Long Jiasheng, has undergone rapid development since its debut in 2015. After collaborating with a well-known toy company in 2019, Labubu gained unprecedented attention. According to reports, the sales of the “The Monsters” series reached 6.3 billion RMB in the first half of 2024.

!7377606

Labubu's success is closely tied to its unique sales strategy. By adopting a blind box model, it increases the excitement and uncertainty of the purchasing process, attracting consumers to buy repeatedly in order to obtain their desired styles. An experienced collector stated that this element of surprise is a major attraction of blind boxes, making the purchasing process itself a source of enjoyment.

In addition to sales strategies, Labubu, as an excellent cultural and creative IP, also demonstrates cross-cultural charm. It is not only popular in Asian culture but has also gained favor among Western pop music and sports stars. Its success is attributed to the patient accumulation and innovative breakthroughs in product creation, as well as China's complete industrial chain and mature industrial ecosystem.

However, when Labubu's popularity extended to the Virtual Money sector, the situation changed. The eponymous Virtual Money LABUBU launched in May 2025, although it once sparked a speculative frenzy, ultimately could not escape the fate of a price decline. Currently, the market value of LABUBU has fallen below 28 million dollars, with a 24-hour decline of over 20%.

!7377657

This phenomenon is not an isolated case. Similar examples include Pudgy Penguins, BAYC, and CryptoPunks. These projects once enjoyed great success, but subsequently experienced significant price declines.

!7377641

!7377642

For example, the Fat Penguin NFT has dropped from a high of 34.8ETH in December 2024 to the current 8.9ETH; its Meme coin PENGU has fallen from a peak of 0.0428 dollars in January 2025 to the current 0.009369 dollars, a decline of 78%. Bored Ape has dropped from a peak of 153.7ETH in May 2022 to the current 11.55ETH, while CryptoPunks has fallen from a high of 125ETH in 2021 to the current 41ETH.

!7377626

!7377630

!7377639

These cases indicate that even virtual asset projects supported by physical products cannot escape the fate of a bubble burst. For virtual money like LABUBU, which merely relies on the popularity of physical toys, its value is even harder to sustain.

Overall, the success of Labubu toys stems from their unique design and innovative marketing strategies. However, when this popularity is excessively extended into the Virtual Money sector, it ultimately cannot escape the sanctions of market rules due to the lack of actual value support. This once again confirms the high-risk nature of the virtual asset market and warns investors to treat such highly speculative assets with caution.