The LABUBU MEME coin has gone big pump globally, rising by dozens of times.

Original author: Nancy, PANews

Labubu, a Nordic forest elf with sharp ears and fangs and a wicked smile, is taking the world by storm at an astonishing rate, becoming a fashion item, social currency, and even an alternative financial tool in the eyes of Gen Z. Recently, Labubu’s third-generation slush plush collection made a strong debut, which sparked a rush of sales as soon as it was launched. From the second-to-second sold-out of domestic e-commerce platforms to the all-night queue at overseas flagship stores, from the C-position appearance in hipster street photography to the fancy swiping of social media, Labubu is evolving into a cultural meme that crosses borders and accelerates its proliferation.

Behind this global trend is not only a precise hit on the deep-seated desire of young people for self-expression and emotional release, but it has also become an alternative asset that capital markets are competing to pay attention to. It’s not just the traditional collection circles that are flocking to it; even the crypto world has caught the Labubu wind.

A Weekly Surge of Several Times, LABUBU, Popular in Thailand, Returns to a Market Value of 10 Million USD

Recently, the MEME coin $LABUBU has surged in popularity due to the launch of a new series of products, becoming the focus of market attention once again. Notable crypto KOLs, including Ansem, have tweeted with the Labubu image, triggering a strong resonance within the community.

According to GMGN data, as of the time of writing, the market capitalization of $LABUBU has skyrocketed from several hundred thousand dollars to 18 million dollars over the past week, increasing by several dozen times, with a trading volume reaching 9.5 million dollars in the past 24 hours. Holderscan data shows that since May 14, the number of $LABUBU holding addresses has significantly increased, indicating that user participation and market enthusiasm continue to heat up.

In fact, this isn’t the first time $LABUBU has sparked a craze in the market. As early as November 2024, during the outbreak of the MEME coin sector, the market capitalization of $LABUBU exceeded $20 million, and although this was not an officially released MEME coin, it still became one of the main IP projects hyped at that time. The Thai market is an important traffic engine for this round of market.

At that time, Labubu had already attracted phenomenal attention in Thailand, with its image frequently appearing on the streets of Bangkok, becoming a representative symbol of trendy culture. From celebrities, such as Blackpink member Lisa, who posted a photo with Labubu on Instagram, to Thai Princess Sirivannavari using Labubu as her everyday handbag “bag buddy”, and ordinary young people wearing Labubu clothing, even incorporating its patterns into tattoo designs. With such high popularity, Labubu-related products from Pop Mart in Thailand were once in short supply, and the hype even caught the attention of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, which awarded Labubu the title of “Magical Thailand Experience Officer” and held a grand welcome ceremony, with the Minister of Tourism and Sports personally attending to show support.

According to the mid-year financial report released by Pop Mart, its overseas revenue reached 1.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 259.6%. Among them, the Southeast Asian market contributed revenue of 560 million yuan, accounting for over 40% of the total overseas revenue. Labubu’s strong performance in Southeast Asia has also greatly boosted investors’ confidence in its related MEME coins.

At the same time, another Thai local IP MOODENG (Little Hippo) has also gained popularity globally, resulting in the emergence of a meme coin of the same name, with its market value being hyped up to several hundred million dollars, driving market attention towards Thai IP-type assets. Recently, MOODENG has seen a strong rebound, which further boosts market interest in Labubu and may also become an important spillover effect for the recovery of the $LABUBU market.

Currently, Labubu’s global popularity continues to rise. According to Google Trends, in the past 30 days, Labubu’s search popularity has far exceeded that of MEME-related IPs such as MOODENG, PEPE, DOGE, and Chillguy worldwide. This indicates that Labubu’s brand influence and market attention are rapidly climbing, far surpassing other similar MEME projects.

From Trendy Toys to Social Currency: The Rise of the Cultural Economy Behind Generation Z

The goal of “recreating a Bubble Mart overseas” is being gradually fulfilled by Labubu’s astonishing speed of going viral.

American pop diva Rihanna was spotted at Los Angeles airport with a pink Labubu hanging from her bag, and even seasoned Hermes enthusiast Bryanboy has attached a Labubu doll to his rare platinum bag… Labubu has been humorously referred to by netizens as “successfully entering America”. Behind this global cultural phenomenon, Labubu has quietly completed a cultural migration from the trendy toy scene to the mainstream global fashion arena.

Driven by the star effect, Labubu has quickly swept the globe. Just at the end of last month, Pop Mart launched the third generation of Labubu’s vinyl plush products, the “High Energy Ahead” series, globally, triggering a new wave of buying frenzy and noticeable premium phenomena in multiple markets. In addition to the domestic fans’ enthusiastic pursuit, fans even camped out overnight in front of Pop Mart stores in places like Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Milan, New Zealand, and Harajuku, Tokyo, just to purchase their desired Labubu, becoming a remarkable sight in contemporary global trend culture.

Not only is it booming offline, but online sales are also unstoppable. The Pop Mart App has topped the U.S. App Store shopping chart and skyrocketed 114 places to fourth on the free chart, demonstrating its tremendous appeal in the North American market. On second-hand trading platforms, the price premium for the “High Energy Ahead” series Labubu is particularly astonishing—blind boxes that originally cost only 99 yuan have seen regular versions increase by 10% to 200%, while hidden versions have reached tens of times their original price, making them the gold and bitcoin of the trendy toy world and a “wealth management tool” in the eyes of players.

On social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, Labubu has become a traffic password. Young people are keen on posting short videos such as “blind box unboxing,” “trendy outfits with Labubu,” and “doll display walls,” even setting up dedicated content accounts to quickly gather millions of followers, with the topic’s popularity and attention continuously rising. This viral dissemination path not only amplifies Labubu’s social influence but also constitutes the core leverage of Bubble Mart’s content and community operations.

What is even more noteworthy is that, unlike in the past when trendy toys were mainly viewed as collectibles or hobbies, Labubu has now elevated to the status of a “universal currency” in the social scenes of young people around the globe. At the midnight market and trendy gatherings in Bangkok, players exchanged hidden edition Labubu for luxury handbags and concert tickets; at Harrods in London, a collector traded a second-hand Hermès Kelly bag for a rare Labubu character; at the Coachella music festival in Los Angeles, fans used limited edition Labubu to obtain festival passes; during the previous Shanghai trendy exhibition, there was even a player who exchanged three iPhone 14 Pros for a hidden edition Labubu… This phenomenon of “trendy toys as currency” not only signifies that Labubu is a form of social capital, but also serves as a medium symbol for identity recognition and aesthetic resonance among young people.

Today, Labubu has gradually become a global IP with full-chain commercial capabilities, also leveraging the flywheel effect of the business logic of Pop Mart. In 2024, the THE MONSTERS series, to which Labubu belongs, contributed 3.04 billion in revenue to Pop Mart, a year-on-year increase of 726.6%, accounting for nearly a quarter of the company’s annual revenue. Among them, the vinyl plush products became Labubu’s annual bestseller, with sales revenue reaching 2.83 billion, and the sales proportion jumped from 3.2% to 21.7%, becoming the company’s second-largest category after figurine products. At the same time, from the perspective of stock performance, Pop Mart has set a historical high of 201.6 HKD, with a return rate of nearly 121.4% within the year.

In a sense, the global rise of Labubu is quite similar to the logic behind the rise of MEME coins. Both are essentially cultural phenomena driven by emotional value, rapidly breaking out of their niches through social media virality, community self-propagation, and a strong sense of identity. Whether it’s young people queuing overnight to grab hidden Labubu releases or investors flocking to buy a certain token due to a MEME image, what is reflected behind it is the contemporary youth’s desire for self-expression, group identity, and participation in discourse power, which are becoming models of the new generation’s cultural economy.