The meme coin Neiro (NEIRO) has witnessed a remarkable 50% surge in its market value. This increase followed a series of charitable acts by Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

After Buterin donated a substantial amount of ETH to an animal welfare fund, Neiro’s market position quickly improved.

Vitalik Buterin Urges Meme Coin Teams to Engage in Charitable Fun-Dings

The tale began when Buterin, initially the largest holder of Neiro, offloaded his entire stash of 17.15 billion Neiro coins. This early August sale amounted to approximately $119,000, or about 44.42 ETH. The sell-off led to a precipitous 60% price drop in Neiro, though this decline proved short-lived.

Read more: Who Is Vitalik Buterin? An In-Depth Look at Ethereum’s Co-Founder

Subsequently, Neiro’s team reached out to Buterin. They requested that he allocate a portion of his earnings to a stray dog shelter. Acknowledging this request on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Neiro’s team thanked Buterin for his thoughtful discussion on the future of meme coins and public goods funding.

Weeks after the initial contact, Buterin made a remarkable donation. He contributed 200 ETH, valued at over $532,000, to the specified animal welfare fund. This act was met with positive reactions from both the Neiro community and broader crypto enthusiasts.

“Charity donation done, covering all animal coins from the past year or so! That said, I appreciate it if coin holdings just get allocated to the charities directly,” Buterin said.

Moreover, Buterin highlighted the potential for meme coins to support sophisticated funding mechanisms for public goods.

Following this charitable gesture, Neiro’s value saw an impressive price action. It climbed nearly 50% in just 24 hours, trading at $0.00005692. This price adjustment elevated Neiro’s market capitalization to around $24 million.

Read more: 7 Hot Meme Coins and Altcoins that are Trending in 2024

Initially launched in July, Neiro gained attention following the death of Kabosu, the famous Shiba Inu and face of Dogecoin (DOGE). The announcement of a new pet named Neiro, succeeding Kabosu, garnered substantial sympathy from the crypto community.

Neiro’s team has committed to merging entertainment with philanthropy. They suggest a shift towards creating meme coins that offer tangible value through community-driven initiatives and support for charitable causes. Proposing approaches like allocating a portion of token supply or transaction fees to charity could redefine the impact and perception of meme-oriented cryptocurrencies.

“The ‘charity coin’ concept you mentioned is indeed an underexplored area. Allocating a portion of token supply or fee mechanisms to support charitable causes can help memecoins achieve positive value to some extent. However, as you pointed out, memecoins in their current form may have limitations. Therefore, we also believe that exploring more complex and engaging gamified forms will be an important path forward,” the Neiro team wrote on X.