Labubu is a fictional IP character created by Hong Kong artist Long Jia Sheng in 2015, and is part of the 'THE MONSTERS' series under Pop Mart. Its design integrates elements of dark elves from Nordic mythology with Eastern aesthetics, forming a unique 'ugly-cute' style that subverts the traditional sweet paradigm of toys.

Initially disseminated as a niche character in picture books, it quickly leaped from the art world to a global phenomenon in trendy toys after collaborating with Pop Mart to launch blind boxes in 2019.

In April 2024, BLACKPINK member Lisa posted a Labubu doll on social media, calling it 'my baby', which triggered a buying frenzy in Southeast Asia, with a 7-fold premium in the Thai market.

Subsequently, celebrities like Rihanna and Beckham's daughter adorned Labubu on their Hermès bags, elevating it from a toy to a 'luxury accessory', thus initiating a new 'speculative path', leading to global enthusiasm, and its market price was also driven up several times.

On June 10, the world's only original mint-colored Labubu appeared at the Yongle 2025 Spring Auction, fetching a hammer price of 1.08 million yuan, which propelled Pop Mart's stock price to a historic high, nearly increasing its share price tenfold within a year, making the founder the richest person in Henan.

This scene inevitably reminds one of another product that was also popular globally a few years ago—NFT, which was similarly led by celebrity effects, topped global auctions, and enjoyed widespread hype, except that one is a physical asset and the other is a virtual asset.

Upon deeper analysis, we can see that the spiritual core of both seems to be quite similar, as both create scarcity to trigger consumers' emotions of 'fear of missing out (FOMO)'; for instance, both rely on social media virality, with Labubu users showcasing hidden versions on Xiaohongshu or TikTok, and NFT players setting their collectibles as social media avatars, both filled with strong social attributes.

So the question arises, will the two have similar outcomes? From experiencing explosive market speculation to eventually returning to calm, or even facing the aftermath of speculative bubbles, after all, the millions of NFT avatars from back then have now lost 90% of their value.

Before this, we can take a brief look at the development of other classic IPs from Pop Mart. MOLLY, as Pop Mart's first blockbuster IP (born in 2006), created scarcity through cross-industry collaborations with luxury brands and trendy labels, with some co-branded models priced over ten thousand yuan, and scalper market premiums reaching 300%. However, the popularity cycle of new series has shortened to 6-12 months, and some styles have seen their prices halved from peak levels.

Another IP named SKULLPANDA saw a 40% drop in resale price within six months due to a surge in supply.

We currently do not have data to compare the price fluctuations of all IPs released by Pop Mart, but some highly representative IPs generally return to calm after experiencing market speculation, with notable price corrections, which is almost identical to NFTs.

Currently, on the second-hand market, the LABUBU, originally priced at 599 yuan, has been speculated to nearly 15,000 yuan, which inevitably reminds one of another trendy toy, Bearbrick, that was popular over a decade ago. Back then, a co-branded model with Chanel was sold for 220,000 yuan, but most models are now priced at only 30%-50% of their original price, so can Labubu escape such a fate?

Perhaps the past has already given us the answer; after all, no matter how brilliant the narrative, there will be a day of disillusionment. Currently, it seems that only BTC has broken this curse.

Moreover, the scarcity of Labubu is only shaped by official descriptions; it should be noted that NFTs inherently possess absolute scarcity, which cannot be broken technically or intervened by humans. From this perspective, NFT + Labubu seems more intriguing, but that's another story.