Vitalik Buterin adopts viral hippo Moo Deng at Thailand zoo

Stagnant bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency prices may not bring holiday cheer to traders, but some with money are trying to spread goodwill.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he had accepted an invitation to be the “foster father” of pygmy hippo Moo Deng when she grows up. He is also donating 10 million Thai baht ($300,000) to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo near Bangkok, where the five-month-old baby lives, he said in a Thursday post on X.

The donations, made in Moo Deng’s name, will be used to improve the zoo’s overall operations and create a dedicated habitat for pygmy hippos within the facility.

Buterin said the donations came thanks to Thailand’s “wonderful hospitality” during the annual Ethereum developer conference in November, and were a “gesture of friendship and respect” toward the entire country.

“What better way to do it than through a Christmas gift to someone loved by all Thais, Moo Deng, and who has become one of the most unexpected and important Thai celebrities on the world stage,” Buterin said in a letter to the zoo

Moo Deng, or jumping pig in Thai, became a popular internet meme earlier this year after images of her went viral online. He has two siblings, brother Moo Toon (stewed pork) and sister Moo Waan (sweet pork).

A memecoin she inspired, MOODENG on Solana, went equally viral and reached a market capitalization of more than $600 million in November after listing on influential exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase.

MOODENG was the first token themed after an animal other than a dog or cat to garner massive trading volumes and is considered by some to be the first Thai memecoin.

However, token prices are down 60% from their peak as much of Moo Deng’s popularity remains focused on Thailand and neighboring markets.