NEW YORK, Sept 29 — Given the popularity of baby pygmy hippo, Moo Deng at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo a zoo in Thailand — it was only a matter of time before she would have dedicated cryptocurrency.

And given that memecoins, which have zero underlying value and trade purely on vibes and hype, it’s no surprise Moo Deng Coin has shot up 1,400% since it was created less than three weeks ago, reported CNN.

On September 10, an anonymous trader whose Solana wallet address starts with "Db3P” bought 6 SOL worth of a new meme coin called Moo Deng.

That US$800 (RM3,300) investment, made four hours after the token was launched, was worth around US$7.5 million (RM30.9 million) worth of the pygmy hippo tokens on Friday, according to blockchain data.

That's up from US$3.5 million (RM14.4 million) early Thursday, when Arkham Intelligence last rang the bell about the trader's incredible gains.

Decrypt examined blockchain data on Friday, and found that approximately 30.2 million MOODENG tokens are still being held between the main wallet and three others, following transfers to those wallets last week.

The as-yet-unidentified trader has faced accusations across Twitter of being an "insider" who got an early jump on the coin, or an undisclosed team member who is now reaping the rewards.

The fun will likely be over when Db3P actually cashes out, which could signal that the coin's collapse since the coin isn’t based on anything and has no utility.

Moo Deng coin is the latest product of a niche online culture that also birthed Dogecoin (created as a joke to dunk on bitcoin) and Shiba Inu coin (a joke to dunk on Dogecoin).

Like any fun internet sensation, memecoins tend to have a short lifespan.

Moo Deng’s cuteness may play a part as the driving force behind the new coin, which was up 90% over 24 hours on Friday, trading at about 25 cents (RM1.03) a coin.

The US Federal Reserve's rate cut last week, and signals of more cuts to come, are also powering a surge in crypto broadly, from the Moo Dengs to the more mainstream bitcoin and ethereum, as looser monetary policy tends to benefit high-risk assets like crypto.

The popularity of the memecoin, which has fluctuated in value, and now appears to be on the slow downtrend has spawned a series of related tokens, including coins dedicated to Moo Deng’s mother, Jonah, and siblings Moo Toon and Moo Waan.