Vitalik Buterin Donates 88 ETH Valued at $292,000 for Moo Deng
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has donated 88 ETH to support Moo Deng, a pygmy hippo at Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo. The donation, valued at approximately $292,000, aims to fund Moo Deng's care.
Moo Deng gained fame after her photos went viral on social media when she was two months old, significantly increasing the zoo's daily visitors in September 2024 and leading to merchandise sales featuring her image.
Buterin expressed his pride in supporting Moo Deng and allocated 10 million THB ($292,000) for her care, suggesting potential future donations. Following Moo Deng's rise to fame, the MOODENG meme coin was launched, with its creator donating over 10 billion tokens to Buterin, who later sold them for charitable purposes.
After Buterin’s ETH donation, the MOODENG token's value increased by over 70% within 24 hours and 125% over the week, showcasing the ability of meme coins to effect positive change.
Buterin advocates for using cryptocurrencies, including meme tokens, to create social impact, reinforcing the potential of decentralized financial tools for global causes.
Another instance of charitable action through meme coins is the MIRA token. Siqi Chen, founder of Runway, shared that his daughter Mira had a rare brain tumor. Although benign, its location complicated treatment.
An X user named Waddles launched the MIRA meme coin on Solana, pledging half of its supply to Chen, who committed to donating all proceeds to medical research.
Both MOODENG and MIRA illustrate how meme coins can serve as effective instruments for goodwill and collective action, emphasizing that cryptocurrency can facilitate lasting positive change beyond mere profit-making.