Elon Musk is now calling himself Kekius Maximus on X, and the meme token which shares the same name has exploded by over 1,200% in the last 24 hours. The Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) token briefly reached $0.17, pushing its market capitalization above $170 million, according to CoinGecko data. KEKIUS is currently trading at $0.13 with approximately $114 million in 24-hour trading volume.
Kekius Maximus is a mashup of the popular internet meme Pepe the Frog and Maximus from Gladiator. It’s a bit like dressing Pepe in full gladiator regalia—a funny yet somehow heroic online persona. Musk updated his profile on X to “Kekius Maximus” on December 31 and subsequently shared a number of posts about his new X identity.
Following the rise of Kekius Maximus, the related meme token PEPE also experienced a surge, climbing 10% in the last 24 hours according to CoinGecko. However, PEPE is still down approximately 9% over the past month.
Musk is no stranger to meme culture, frequently using humor and memes to engage his audience. The Tesla CEO previously changed his name to “Mr. Tweet” and “Naughtius Maximus.” And it’s not just about laughs. Musk’s tweets and comments have a history of sending crypto prices on a rollercoaster ride, especially Dogecoin.
