- Vitalik Buterin donated 10 million Thai baht (~AU$471K or 88 ETH) to Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, supporting operations, a Wildlife Sponsorship Program, and a new exhibit for Moo Deng, an endangered pygmy hippopotamus.
- The donation followed Buterin’s visit to the zoo during Ethereum-related events like the Devcon SEA conference, expressing gratitude for Thailand’s hospitality.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has donated 10 million Thai baht to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand.
The funds, around US$293K (or AU$471K), or 88 Ether (ETH), will support the zoo’s operations, its Wildlife Sponsorship Program, and the development of a dedicated exhibit for Moo Deng, a pygmy hippopotamus who has gained international attention.
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Buterin Grateful for Thailand’s Hospitality
The Khao Kheow Open Zoo thanked Buterin on X, expressing their excitement about working together over the next two years to benefit their community and visitors.
The donation followed Buterin’s visit to the zoo and was made as a gesture of appreciation for Thailand’s hospitality during Ethereum-related events, including the Devcon SEA conference held in November.
In a letter shared on X, Buterin referred to Moo Deng as “dear to all Thai people” stating that the hippo was an “unexpected celebrity”.
Moo Deng, whose name means “bouncy pig” in English, is an endangered pygmy hippopotamus known for her playful behavior, captured in viral videos in 2024. As with everything popular, a memecoin was inspired by her.
That’s Moo Deng (MOODENG), a memecoin launched on the Solana (SOL) network. It was recently added to Coinbase’s listing roadmap alongside tokens like dogwifhat (WIF) and Pepe (PEPE). The token currently has a market capitalisation of US$270M (AU$340M), down from a peak of US$614M (AU$1.02B) in early November.
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That means the token is down over 50% since launch. And yes, some traders saw significant profits, but the staggering drop is a reminder of how volatile these coins are, no matter how adorable the pet they are inspired by is.
Solana has become the go-to platform for memecoin launches thanks to its technical stack, low costs, and high-speed performance. Pump.fun, a memecoin generator on Solana, took advantage of this, allowing users to launch their tokens for a few dollars, quite literally.
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