Stalled bitcoin (BTC) and crypto costs might not be bringing festive cheer to merchants, however some with cash try to unfold the goodwill round.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated he’d accepted an invite to be the “adoptive father” of pygmy hippo Moo Deng when she grows up. He’s additionally donating 10 million Thai baht ($300,000) to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo close to Bangkok the place the five-month-old lives, he stated in a Thursday posting on X.
The donations, made in Moo Deng’s identify, can be used to improve basic zoo operations and create a devoted pygmy hippo habitat inside the premises.
Buterin stated the donations got here on the again of the “great hospitality of Thailand” throughout November’s annual Ethereum developer convention, and have been a “gesture of friendship and respect” to the entire nation.
“What higher approach to do this than via a Christmas current to somebody who’s pricey to all Thai individuals, Moo Deng, and who has turn out to be one of the vital surprising and vital Thai celebrities on the world stage,” Buterin stated in a letter to the zoo.
Thanks for the nice and cozy welcome to the household and your work for wild animals!
I am pleased to be adoptive father to Moo Deng as she grows up over the subsequent 2y and assist her with my 10M THB donation, perhaps extra as I put aside 88 ETH for🦛+ frens. Could they stay lengthy and prosper🖖🏻 pic.twitter.com/l24vPybhTi
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 26, 2024
Moo Deng, or bouncy pork in Thai, grew to become 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, went equally viral and hit a market capitalization of above $600 million in November after bagging listings on influential exchanges equivalent to Binance and Coinbase.
MOODENG was the primary token themed on an animal aside from a canine or cat to garner huge buying and selling volumes and is taken into account by some to be the first Thai memecoin.
Token costs are down 60% from peak, nonetheless, as a lot of Moo Deng’s recognition stays centered inside Thailand and neighboring markets.