Stalled bitcoin (BTC) and crypto costs is probably not bringing festive cheer to merchants, however some with cash try to unfold the goodwill round.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin mentioned 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 mentioned in a Thursday posting on X.

The donations, made in Moo Deng’s identify, will likely be used to improve common zoo operations and create a devoted pygmy hippo habitat inside the premises.

Buterin mentioned the donations got here on the again of the “fantastic 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 method to try this than by way of a Christmas current to somebody who’s expensive to all Thai folks, Moo Deng, and who has change into one of the crucial surprising and essential Thai celebrities on the world stage,” Buterin mentioned in a letter to the zoo.

Moo Deng, or bouncy pork in Thai, grew to become a well-liked web meme earlier this yr after photos 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 corresponding to Binance and Coinbase.

MOODENG was the primary token themed on an animal apart 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 reputation stays targeted inside Thailand and neighboring markets.