Original title: (Labubu successfully 'breaks into the US', the same name MEME coin LABUBU is being hyped again)
Original author: Nancy, PANews
A Nordic forest elf Labubu with pointy ears, sharp teeth, and a mischievous smile is sweeping the globe at an astonishing speed, becoming a fashion item and social currency in the eyes of Generation Z, even an alternative financial tool. Recently, the third generation of Labubu's vinyl plush series has made a strong debut, triggering a rush to buy as soon as it was launched. From sold-out items on domestic e-commerce platforms to long queues at overseas flagship stores, from being the center of attention in street style photography to dominating social media feeds, Labubu is evolving into a cultural meme that transcends borders.
This global trend not only precisely hits the deep desire of young people for personality release and emotional expression but has also become an alternative asset that capital markets are fiercely interested in; not only the traditional collectibles circle is eager to pursue it, but even the crypto world is blowing up with Labubu.
A weekly increase of dozens of times, the LABUBU that has become popular in Thailand returns to a market value of tens of millions of dollars.
Recently, the MEME coin $LABUBU has seen a surge in popularity due to the release of a new series of products, once again becoming the focus of market attention. This includes well-known crypto KOL Ansem and other KOLs posting tweets featuring the Labubu image, which triggered a strong resonance within the community.
According to GMGN data, as of the time of writing, the market value of $LABUBU has skyrocketed from several hundred thousand dollars to 18 million dollars within the past week, increasing by dozens of times, with a trading volume of 9.5 million dollars in just the past 24 hours. Holderscan data shows that since May 14, the number of addresses holding $LABUBU has significantly increased, indicating that user participation and market enthusiasm continue to rise. In fact, this is not the first time that $LABUBU has sparked a wave in the market. During the explosion of the MEME coin sector in November 2024, the market value of $LABUBU had once exceeded 20 million dollars. Although this is not an officially released MEME coin, it still became one of the main IP projects that were hyped at that time. The Thai market is an important traffic engine for this round of market activity.
At that time, Labubu had already generated phenomenal attention in Thailand, with its image frequently appearing on the streets of Bangkok, becoming a representative symbol of trendy culture. From celebrities and famous figures, such as Blackpink member Lisa posting a photo with Labubu on Instagram, to Thai princess Sirivannavari using Labubu as her everyday handbag 'partner', and even ordinary young people wearing Labubu clothing or using its patterns for tattoos. Amidst its high popularity, Pop Mart's Labubu-related products in Thailand were once in short supply, and the hype even attracted significant attention from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, granting Labubu the title of 'Magical Thailand Experience Officer' and holding a grand welcoming ceremony, with the Minister of Tourism and Sports personally attending.
According to the mid-term financial report released by Pop Mart in 2024, its overseas revenue reached 1.35 billion yuan, a staggering year-on-year growth of 259.6%. Among them, the Southeast Asian market contributed revenue of 560 million yuan, accounting for over 40% of total overseas revenue. Labubu's strong performance in Southeast Asia has also greatly boosted investors' confidence in its related MEME coins. Meanwhile, another local Thai IP, MOODENG (Little Hippo), has also gone viral globally and has spawned a MEME coin of the same name, with its market value being hyped up to hundreds of millions of dollars, driving market attention towards Thai IP-related assets. Recently, MOODENG's strong rebound has further increased market interest in Labubu, potentially becoming an important spillover effect for the $LABUBU market recovery.
Currently, Labubu's global popularity continues to rise. According to Google Trends, in the past 30 days, Labubu's search popularity globally has far exceeded that of other MEME-related IPs such as MOODENG, PEPE, DOGE, and Chillguy. This indicates that Labubu's brand influence and market attention are rapidly increasing worldwide, far surpassing other similar MEME projects.
From trendy toys to social currency, the cultural economy behind Generation Z is on the rise.
The goal of 'recreating a Pop Mart overseas' is gradually being fulfilled step by step by Labubu's astonishing breakout speed. From American pop diva Rihanna being photographed at Los Angeles airport with a pink Labubu hanging from her bag, to seasoned Hermès enthusiast Bryanboy hanging a Labubu doll on his rare platinum bag... Labubu has been humorously referred to by netizens as 'successfully breaking into the US', and behind this globally popular cultural export, Labubu has quietly completed a cultural migration from the trendy toy circle to the global mainstream fashion circle.
Driven by the star effect, Labubu quickly swept the globe. Just at the end of last month, Pop Mart released the third generation of Labubu's vinyl plush products, the 'High Energy Ahead' series globally, once again triggering a new wave of buying frenzy and showing significant premium phenomena in multiple markets. In addition to domestic fans' enthusiastic pursuit, fans in Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Milan, New Zealand, and Tokyo's Harajuku even queued overnight in front of Pop Mart stores just to snag their desired Labubu, creating a remarkable spectacle in contemporary global trendy culture.
Not only is it booming offline, but online sales are also unstoppable. The Pop Mart app has topped the shopping list in the US App Store and surged 114 places to fourth on the free list, demonstrating its tremendous appeal in the North American market. On second-hand trading platforms, the premium for the 'High Energy Ahead' series Labubu is particularly astonishing - a blind box priced at only 99 yuan has seen ordinary versions generally rise by 10%-200%, while hidden versions have even reached dozens of times the original price, making it the gold and bitcoin of the trendy toy world, leaping to become a 'financial tool' in the eyes of players.
On social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, Labubu has become a traffic password. Young people are keen to post short videos such as 'blind box unboxing', 'fashion matching with Labubu', 'doll wall displays', etc., even setting up dedicated content accounts that quickly attract millions of followers, with topic popularity and attention continuously rising. This viral communication path not only amplifies Labubu's social influence but also constitutes the core lever of Pop Mart's content and community operation.
What’s even more noteworthy is that unlike previous trends where trendy toys were mainly viewed as collectibles or hobbies, Labubu has ascended to become a 'universal currency' in the social scenes of global youth. In Bangkok's midnight markets and trendy gatherings, players have exchanged hidden version Labubu for luxury bags and concert tickets; in Harrods in London, a collector exchanged a second-hand Hermès Kelly bag for a rare Labubu character; at the Coachella music festival in Los Angeles, fans exchanged limited edition Labubu for music festival passes; during a recent trendy exhibition in Shanghai, players even exchanged three iPhone 14 Pros for a hidden version Labubu... This phenomenon of 'trendy toys as currency' not only signifies that Labubu is a form of social capital but has also become a medium symbol of identity recognition and aesthetic resonance among young people.
Today, Labubu has gradually become a global IP with full-chain commercial capabilities, also triggering the flywheel effect of Pop Mart's business logic. In 2024, the THE MONSTERS series, to which Labubu belongs, contributed 3.04 billion yuan in revenue to Pop Mart, a year-on-year increase of 726.6%, accounting for nearly a quarter of the company's total annual revenue. Among them, vinyl plush products have become Labubu's annual bestseller, with sales revenue reaching 2.83 billion yuan, and the sales proportion rising from 3.2% to 21.7%, making it the second largest category in the company after figurine products. At the same time, from the stock price performance perspective, Pop Mart has hit a historical high of 201.6 Hong Kong dollars, with an annual return rate of nearly 121.4%.
In a sense, Labubu's global breakout path is quite similar to the rise logic of MEME coins. Both are essentially cultural phenomena driven by emotional value, rapidly breaking into the mainstream through social media virality, community self-propagation, and strong identity recognition. Whether it's young people queuing overnight for hidden version Labubu or investors flocking to buy a token due to a MEME image, what they reflect is the contemporary young people's desire for self-expression, community identity, and participation in discourse, becoming a model for the new generation of cultural economy.
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