Vitalik Buterin Adopts Viral Hippo Moo Deng at Thailand Zoo

Caught bitcoin (BTC) and crypto costs might not carry festive cheer to merchants, however some with cash are attempting to unfold the goodwill.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated he had accepted an invite to turn out to be the “adoptive father” of pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng when she grows up. He may even donate 10 million Thai baht ($300,000) to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo close to Bangkok, the place the five-month-old little one lives, he stated in a publish on X on Thursday.

The donations, made in Moo Deng’s identify, might be used to enhance total zoo operations and create a particular habitat for pygmy hippos on the premises.

Buterin stated the donations had been a results of Thailand’s “nice hospitality” on the annual Ethereum builders convention in November, and had been a “gesture of friendship and respect” to your entire nation.

“What higher method to try this than to offer a Christmas reward to somebody expensive to all Thai individuals, Moo Deng, and who has turn out to be one of the surprising and vital Thai celebrities on the world stage,” Buterin stated in a letter to the zoo.

Moo Deng, or bouncy pork in Thai, turned a well-liked web meme earlier this 12 months after pictures of her went viral on-line. She has two siblings, brother Moo Toon (stewed pork) and sister Moo Waan (candy pork).

A memecoin she impressed, MOODENG on Solana, equally went viral, reaching a market capitalization of greater than $600 million in November after itemizing on influential exchanges reminiscent of Binance and Coinbase.

MOODENG was the primary token themed to an animal aside from a canine or cat to generate enormous buying and selling volumes and is taken into account by some to be the primary Thai memecoin.

Nevertheless, token costs have fallen 60% from their peak as a lot of Moo Deng’s reputation stays concentrated in Thailand and neighboring markets.