Moo Deng, the famous short hippopotamus on the internet, has been adopted by Vitalik Buterin, one of the most famous cryptocurrency founders.
Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, the world's second-largest blockchain network, has become the godfather of Moo Deng, as announced by the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand on social media on December 26th:
"Thank you, Vitalik Buterin, for participating in the Wildlife Sponsorship Program, adopting Moo Deng with a generous gift worth 10 million THB for her family!"
Buterin's sponsorship. Source: Khao Kheow Zoo
"We look forward to working with you in the next two years," an additional announcement.
Moo Deng became famous on social media in September 2024 thanks to her expressive personality and entertaining videos shared by the zoo in Thailand.
In response to the announcement, Buterin stated he could donate more than the current amount of 88 Ether (ETH), equivalent to $292,000, to the zoo. He wrote in a post on social media on December 26th as follows:
"I am very pleased to be the godfather of Moo Deng as she grows up in the next two years and support with my donation of 10 million THB, possibly more as I have set aside 88 ETH for [Moo Deng] + friends."
Buterin at Khao Kheow Zoo. Source: Vitalik Buterin
In October, Buterin donated over $180,000 in ETH, sending it to his address in the form of Moo Deng memecoin to the biotech charity Kanro.
Moo Deng memecoin trader earns $3.4 million before a 60% drop
The global spread of Moo Deng has inspired the creation of a memecoin on the Solana platform, and some traders have made significant profits before the token's value dropped nearly 60% from its peak.
A savvy investor turned $1,300 into $3.4 million after achieving a return on investment of 2,554 times from the Moo Deng Token (MOODENG), reported by TinTucBitcoin on September 26th.
The savvy Moo Deng trader. Source: Lookonchain
This financial profit has led some community members to suspect that there may be insider trading or developer involvement.
However, this also illustrates the risks of trading memecoins, as the hippo-inspired memecoin has dropped 58% from its all-time high of $0.62 recorded on November 16, 2024, according to data from CoinGecko.
MOODENG/USDT all-time chart. Source: CoinGecko
Over 99% of traders on the Solana memecoin launch platform, Pump.fun, have lost money or earned less than $1,000 in profit.
See more: Cryptocurrency scams targeting Web3 employees with fake apps
Out of a total of 8.5 million wallets, only 50 wallets made a profit of up to $1,000, while five wallets made profits ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
Wallet distribution with profits on Pump.fun. Source: Dune
Only one wallet made more than $10,000 in profit on the memecoin launch platform, according to data disclosed by Dune.
