This report is written by Tiger Research. Moonbirds was launched as an NFT project in 2021. After being acquired by Orange Cap Games in 2025, its development path shifted. This raises a core question: Where is Moonbirds headed now?
Key Takeaways
- Following the acquisition of Moonbirds, Orange Cap Games announced plans to issue a token and expand into a broader ecosystem.
- To position the Moonbirds IP around fan culture rather than speculation, the team is launching various forms of engagement, including a card game, Blind Box 2.0 program, and a mobile game.
- Although the expansion prospects for the Moonbirds IP are promising, a clearer and more specific utility framework for the $BIRB token still needs to be established.
1. Moonbirds Moves Towards a Larger Ecosystem
Source: Opensea
Moonbirds was once a high-profile NFT project in 2021, with trading prices reaching as high as 40 ETH. As the NFT market entered a downturn, attention gradually waned. However, Moonbirds recently returned to the spotlight by announcing a token issuance plan. Yet, viewing Moonbirds solely as an NFT project reflects a perspective stuck in 2021.
In May 2025, Moonbirds entered a new phase after being acquired by Orange Cap Games. The acquirer's goal was not to operate Moonbirds as a standalone NFT collection but to develop it into a broader IP-driven business. This shift requires us to look beyond the valuation of a single NFT and instead evaluate Moonbirds within a larger strategic framework.
2. Moonbirds and the Ambition to Become the Next "Pop Mart"
Source: Solana Youtube
The future envisioned by Orange Cap Games for Moonbirds is to become the "next Pop Mart."
CEO Spencer Gordon Sand stated that his ambition is to build a multi-billion dollar company by turning Orange Cap Games into the Web3 version of Pop Mart.
This ambition is closely tied to Sand's professional background. He was an early investor in NFT projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), RTFKT, and Cool Cats, giving him firsthand experience in how NFT projects evolve into IPs and how they fail.
Particularly, as one of the largest holders of Pudgy Penguins, he witnessed the brand expand into mainstream media, including television, with non-crypto audiences actively engaging with these characters. This experience likely shaped his belief in building the "next Pop Mart."
Echoing this background, Orange Cap Games' vision for Moonbirds is distinctly different from the typical NFT sales model. The company is not focused on NFT distribution within Web3 but instead uses Moonbirds as a starting point, acquiring and expanding multiple high-potential IPs, ultimately positioning itself as a diversified, IP-centric consumer business, structured similarly to Pop Mart.
What is Pop Mart's most popular blind box series?
A representative success story for Pop Mart is the character Labubu. Labubu was not originally created by Pop Mart. In 2019, the company signed an exclusive agreement with a Hong Kong artist and successfully brought the character to the mass market.
Pop Mart is not a simple third-party IP reseller. Its core strength lies in vertical integration.
Similar to a talent agency, the company manages the entire lifecycle of IP development, from artist discovery and IP licensing to product design, manufacturing, and direct-to-consumer distribution through its own channels. This integrated structure allows Pop Mart to repeatedly scale new characters using a consistent expansion model.
Orange Cap Games appears to be pursuing a similar approach. The company's goal is not just to create products but to build a distribution layer capable of delivering multiple IPs.
This system encompasses physical distribution (e.g., figurines and trading cards), cultural distribution through offline tournaments and events, and digital distribution through games and NFTs. The aim is to create a repeatable framework that can support and scale any IP introduced into the ecosystem.
3. To Become Pop Mart, Products Must Be Well-Made and Distribution Must Be in Place
Source: Orange Cap Games
For Orange Cap Games, producing physical toys inspired by Moonbirds NFTs is important. However, trading cards play a more central role in building a scalable ecosystem.
To make its trading card game stand out, the company avoided industry-standard blue-core cardstock and instead developed its own orange-core material. This proprietary cardstock reduces common issues like edge wear and card bending. Orange Cap Games controls material selection and the manufacturing process, extending product ownership down to production details.
These efforts were validated when the cards received a PSA 10 rating (PSA's highest grade). Subsequently, the company partnered directly with PSA to launch co-branded promotional cards.
Source: Moonbirds
Product quality alone is not enough. The distribution infrastructure determines whether physical products can reach the right audience. Placement in high-traffic locations frequented by target consumers is crucial.
To this end, Orange Cap Games has established partnerships with major global distributors:
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GTS Distribution: The largest collectibles distributor in North America
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Star City Games: A core distributor for Magic: The Gathering
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Asmodee: The world's third-largest board game and toy distributor
As a result, Moonbirds products are no longer confined to crypto-native channels like exchanges. They are now available in local hobby shops and toy stores, meeting the basic requirements for global expansion.
At this stage, Orange Cap Games has secured product quality and distribution channels. The next challenge is retention: whether customers who purchase these products will remain engaged within the broader Moonbirds ecosystem.
4. Persuading Consumers to Choose Moonbirds
Producing high-quality products and ensuring distribution are necessary but not sufficient. The real challenge lies in persuasion. Among the myriad character products on retail shelves, what makes consumers choose Moonbirds?
Labubu's success at Pop Mart was not driven solely by visual appeal. Orange Cap Games applies similar logic, using structured strategies to influence consumer behavior rather than relying solely on design.
4.1 Trading Card Game as a Cultural Entry Point
Cards are not just collectibles; they are also components of a game. For cards to be meaningful collectibles, there must first be a playable game. Without active gameplay, even beautifully designed and well-made cards are merely decorations.
Source: Vibes
The core question is how to attract players to a new card game.
Orange Cap Games targets participants of large trading card tournaments. These events typically last five days, with about half of the participants eliminated on the first day. The company schedules its own tournaments on the second day, positioning them as an alternative for eliminated players.
From the participants' perspective, additional competitive opportunities are attractive. Preparation familiarizes them with the game, core players begin to gather, and the product starts to function as a real game rather than a niche experiment.
When Moonbirds tournaments are held alongside a large, established event, players also begin to associate them with the same competitive standards. This cognitive shift is crucial. The strategy's focus is not on immediate conversion but on repositioning Moonbirds TCG as a legitimate part of the broader card game ecosystem.
In essence, this approach is not just about participation but about changing how the product is perceived.
Source: scgcon
In practice, Orange Cap Games applied this strategy at SCG Con in 2025 with its Vibes TCG, hosting side events alongside the main tournament. Over time, this approach steadily increased the scale and visibility of Vibes TCG events.
4.2 Blind Box 2.0: From a Single Experience to a Triple Experience
Source: Moonbirds
Pop Mart's traditional blind boxes, like the Labubu series, typically contain a single figurine. Once the box is opened and the item is revealed, the experience ends. This model is designed around one-time consumption.
Moonbirds adopts a different approach—Blind Box 2.0. Each box contains three different collectibles:
- Plush toy or figurine
- Trading card
- NFT
By purchasing a single box, the consumer engages in three separate experiences, not one.
Orange Cap Games refers to this model as a "hybrid" category. It is not merely a bundle of three products. The core idea is cross-channel引流 (drainage/flow), with each item serving as an entry point to different parts of the ecosystem.
- Buyers focused on toys discover TCG cards and are introduced to gameplay.
- Buyers focused on TCG obtain NFTs and are exposed to on-chain assets.
- Buyers focused on NFTs obtain physical toys and are guided into the offline community.
A single blind box becomes a gateway to all three of Orange Cap Games' business lines (toys, TCG, and NFTs). Consumers may only engage with their initial purchase intent. However, once curiosity extends beyond the original purpose, they are naturally guided into adjacent parts of the ecosystem.
4.3 Mobile Games as an Extended Channel for Daily Engagement
Source: Vibes
Buying trading cards requires money; collecting figurines requires prior interest. In contrast, free mobile games only require a download. Some users may subsequently invest time or money to improve their decks or progress, but the initial barrier to entry remains low.
Angry Birds provides a useful reference. The gameplay is simple, but the characters achieved global recognition. From there, the IP expanded into movies, merchandise, and theme parks. The game became the starting point for broad IP distribution.
Moonbirds' mobile game is designed to serve a similar purpose. Through gameplay, users become familiar with the characters and gradually absorb the broader世界观 (worldview). Even users with no immediate intention to buy cards or figurines are exposed to Moonbirds through the game.
Over time, this familiarity creates awareness. When consumers later encounter Moonbirds products in a retail environment, these characters are no longer strangers. The mobile game builds a psychological bridge that can turn passive awareness into potential purchase intent.
5. From Moonbirds to Orange Cap Games: The Role of $BIRB
Orange Cap Games has built the infrastructure and strategy to expand Moonbirds. However, for investors, the key question remains: What does the $BIRB token actually do?
The team describes $BIRB as a "coordination layer." In this framework, the token aims to accelerate cultural propagation, making memes spread more effectively. The strategy is to anchor the business in physical consumer products while leveraging crypto-native dynamics to amplify brand influence.
The challenge lies in specificity. It is not yet clear what specific benefits token holders will receive. Revenue sharing from product sales, NFT-linked memberships, or other incentive mechanisms have not been clearly defined.
Orange Cap Games emphasizes long-term ecosystem growth. Revenue is expected to be reinvested into the business rather than distributed to token holders. The goal is to create a positive feedback loop where attention generated from non-crypto markets feeds back into the crypto community.
A notable strength is that this is not a business assembled solely to justify a token issuance. The company generated real revenue through Vibes TCG before introducing the token layer. This approach is fundamentally different from meme coins that lack underlying operations.
However, unanswered questions remain. Whether the proposed "cultural coordination" function of the token can work in practice and whether this function can translate into sustained token value remains to be seen. The strategy of prioritizing reinvestment may also be less appealing to short-term investors.
Whether Moonbirds can achieve Pop Mart-level success remains uncertain. Nonetheless, as a real-time experiment in how an origin NFT IP can be monetized in the real world, the specific design of $BIRB and its early performance will determine the outcome of this experiment.
Related reading: Moonbirds: The Wealth Creation Narrative of Birbillions.
