• Moo Deng, a newborn Thai pygmy hippo that has stolen hearts globally, is now the star of a $142 million meme coin that surged over 60% in the past day alone.
• The new meme coin has minted several new millionaires but is dividing opinion on whether such projects take away from coins with real utility.

Just when you think meme coins are done with, they find a way to make a big splash. This time, the latest headliner is based on the cutest baby hippo global: Moo Deng.

Moo Deng is a pygmy baby hippo born two months ago at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. Since then, it has stolen the hearts of billions globally, with its photos and videos splashed across social media. It has even morphed into a makeup trend on TikTok.

This makes the baby hippo the perfect object for a meme coin. Moo Deng has become the latest meme coin sensation, and over the past week, it has shot up from $0.03597 to trade at $0.145 at press time, a 320% rise. In the past day alone, it has gained 70%, taking its market cap to $144 million.

The unprecedented surge has minted millionaires who spotted the opportunity early on. One trader turned $1,331 into a staggering $3.4 million in just two weeks, which translates to over a 2,550% return.

Moo Deng is setting new records in its wake. For one, it’s the first Thailand-centred meme coin to surge to over $100 million, which it hit earlier today. However, it’s not really a Thai token, as Kasetsart University’s Udomsak Rakwongwan noted. He added:

There used to be other memes in Thailand, but they were not so successful because they began in Thailand. There was a token about ex-junta prime minister. It went quite viral, but the price and market caps didn’t go anywhere.

Another trader turned a mere $401 into a staggering $800,000, with thousands making handsome returns. At press time, the number of unique wallets had surged past 12,500 as the fear of missing out continued to draw more traders.

For some crypto purists, sensational crypto projects like Moo Deng are a stain on the industry. This faction believes that such coins take away from the coins that are offering real utility, with these major coins sometimes losing their investment to these newbies.

However, for others, Moo Deng is a breath of fresh air. One of them posited on X that Moo Deng is exactly what meme coins should be like: “Something genuinely cute/interesting with crazy normie appeal that will capture enough attention over a sustained period of time to guarantee PVE expansion where everyone eats. Coins like “ball up top” gay af in comparison (respectfully).”

Regardless, Moo Deng is yet another confirmation that Solana has arrived as one of the biggest meme coin players. Solana became home to some of the biggest success in this year’s meme coin bonanza, including WIF, BOME and more recently, POPCAT. All these have become central players in the meme coin sector.

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