NFT mystery box economy: Blockchain upgrade of the Pop Mart model

In the new consumption sector, the successful IPO of Pop Mart, a representative of trendy toys, has attracted attention. As a niche subculture, trendy toys share similarities with the recently emerging NFT players. The short-term success of Pop Mart going public has certain implications for the NFT space.

The mystery box model was not originally created by Pop Mart. As early as 1996, Pokémon began issuing TCG cards, printing characters like Pikachu on cards for distribution. TCG cards are distributed randomly, with both standard and limited editions coexisting, attracting collectors to continuously pursue rare cards. According to statistics, the Pokémon series cards have been issued in 77 countries and regions worldwide, with total sales exceeding 27.2 billion cards.

In addition to physical cards, the gaming industry also widely adopts the mystery box mechanism. In games like DOTA2, players can purchase chests to obtain random accessories, with the chance of getting rare items. The mobile game Onmyoji has taken the card drawing gameplay to the extreme, becoming a hot topic.

From physical cards to digital collectibles, and then to NFT assets on the Blockchain, this is the natural path of industry development. In 2018, Crypto Kitties on Ethereum suddenly became popular, allowing users to collect and trade unique virtual cats, which ignited the NFT technology. NFTs possess uniqueness and indivisibility, making them naturally suitable for scarce products.

In the same year, the blockchain card game Gods Unchained launched its presale, converting all cards into NFTs. The official explanation states that the NFT cards can be freely traded and will never disappear. The game's presale raised over 9 million RMB in just half a month, demonstrating the enormous potential of NFT cards.

However, the physical mystery box model still has hidden concerns. To stimulate consumption, merchants continue to launch "hidden versions", but the scarcity is difficult to determine. Data security experts believe that NFT technology can solve this problem. Data on the Blockchain is immutable, and on-chain mystery boxes based on NFTs can improve fairness. Meanwhile, the NFTization of traditional gaming assets is also a future trend.

Compared to physical mystery boxes, NFT assets have higher liquidity. In traditional games, item trading is often restricted. However, the NFT standard allows assets to be freely traded; for instance, after Gods Unchained launched its trading market, the number of card trades quickly surpassed USDT. NFTs can also amplify the financial attributes of products; for example, DEGO's NFT "Hammer" can be used for mining and governance.

IP management is the core of the mystery box economy. Pop Mart has successfully operated 93 IPs, including proprietary IPs, exclusive IPs, and non-exclusive IPs. High-quality IPs can bring stable traffic and purchasing power. The NFT field also requires high-quality IPs to drive traffic. Existing projects have attempted to introduce well-known IPs, such as the GoPepe series cards issued on the WAX blockchain.

However, the implementation of NFT technology still faces challenges. The high gas fees on Ethereum affect user experience, while other public chains have a limited user base. The infrastructure is not well-developed, as most wallets do not support NFT display. The issue of IP piracy also needs to be addressed. In addition, the management of NFT exchanges is chaotic and lacks unified standards.

The future development of NFTs, in addition to improving infrastructure, also requires a sound on-chain data system and diverse gameplay. With the resolution of these issues, NFTs are expected to become an upgraded version of the mystery box economy, creating a new model for digital asset trading.