If you’re wondering what that weird-looking thing is that you see on a shelf in your friend’s home, you might have encountered the Labubu. Combine that with cryptocurrency, and you have a new meme coin phenomenon called the Labubu meme coin, the token that has been trending over the past week, spiking on price charts.
First, what is a Labubu?
The Labubu doll comes from a series of picture books created by Kasing Lung in 2015. The characters in the book are inspired by Nordic mythology, and one character in the lineup of quirky personalities stood out: Labubu.
In the books, Labubu is a mischievous, elf-looking beast that has good intentions but always manages to do the opposite in the story. The Labubu is distinguishable because of its sharpish teeth, pointy ears, and furry hair.
Labubu becomes a real product through retail collaboration
The Labubu became a cute-looking mini-doll through a collaboration with retail company Popmart. The dolls sold fast and quickly became a natural accompaniment to women’s purses, forming a fashion trend among celebrities such as Dua Lipa and Rihanna, typically toted on high-end luxury bags like Birkins. At one point, Labubus became so popular that Popmart had to pull them off the shelves in U.K. stores due to safety concerns.
Today, you will find Labubu in multiple forms like bags, fridge magnets, plush toys, drinkware, display containers, and more. There are rare collectible auctioned Labubus as well, with notable ones being a $13,000 resin Labubu sculpture, a $42,120 Labubu-themed painting, and a human-sized Labubu that sold for more than $150,000 at the Yongle International Auction in Beijing.
The Labubu meme coin
The Labubu meme coin was created on Pump.fun in October 2024 and maintained a low profile until the doll became popular. Manic buying action in May caused the price of the coin to skyrocket on the back of the Labubu trend. The meme coin increased from $814,710 to $49.16 million, increasing 40x over a period of two weeks. Two investors—DNF and Wang Xiaoer—were able to realize 6 figure profits by buying the coin early.
Labubu today sits at an intersection point of books, crypto, fashion, and handy accessories.
The choice of Labubu for a meme coin seems natural enough. Meme coins are easy to create and are known for their ability to capitalize on a trend. One example of a meme coin similar to the Labubu, perhaps in popularity but not subject matter, was the Francis coin, a meme coin that became popular after the death of Pope Francis.
As the coin continues to grow in popularity, more sellable products could be created that have the Labubu trademark, with more meme coins symbolizing the doll entering the market.
