Elon Musk’s Kekius Maximus Name Change Sparks Meme Coin Frenzy

January 1, 2025

Elon Musk, owner and executive chairman of X, recently changed his display name to Kekius Maximus, sparking widespread attention and fueling interest in the meme coin KEKIUS. 

Kekius Maximus combines elements of the widely recognized Pepe the Frog internet meme with the legendary Maximus Decimus Meridius from the award-winning film Gladiator. The depiction features Pepe outfitted in full gladiator armor, creating a humorous yet oddly heroic figure that resonates with fans of both internet culture and cinematic epics.

On December 31, Musk updated his X profile to reflect his new persona and followed it up with a series of posts highlighting and engaging with his updated identity on the platform. 

The meme coin experienced a dramatic surge, skyrocketing by 1,500% within a single day. At its peak, the token briefly hit $0.17, driving its market capitalization past $170 million, as reported by CoinGecko. Currently, KEKIUS is trading at $0.265, with an impressive $137 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours. 

KEKIUS has also experienced an extraordinary two-week rally, surging by an astonishing 23,668.2%. 

A significant New Year’s Eve surge propelled KEKIUS’s market capitalization to $156 million, with one billion tokens in circulation. The token’s market cap has since climbed further to approximately $284 million.

Created on the Ethereum blockchain, KEKIUS is distributed across 12,788 unique wallet addresses. MEXC holds the largest share, owning 50,523,017 tokens. Collectively, the top 100 wallets account for 52.75% of the total supply, representing 527,475,667 KEKIUS tokens.

Musk has yet to reveal the motivation behind his recent X name change to Kekius Maximus. The SpaceX CEO added to the intrigue by sharing a New York Post article where the writer speculated on the potential meaning of the new moniker. Musk’s response was characteristically cryptic, replying with a lighthearted “Kek” when posting the article on the platform.

The official website for KEKIUS embraces the classic meme coin vibe with a minimalist design. It encourages visitors to tap into their creativity using Grok to craft their own Kekius Maximus memes. While KEKIUS has garnered significant attention in recent weeks, its long-term prospects remain uncertain. 

As 2024 draws to a close, questions linger about the future of meme coins and whether this trend will continue to dominate the cryptocurrency landscape. 

Musk has long embraced meme culture, often using humor to connect with his audience. Before Kekius Maximus, the CEO of Tesla adopted playful names such as “Mr. Tweet” and “Naughtius Maximus” on social media. 

But his engagement with memes goes beyond entertainment — Musk’s tweets and public comments have consistently influenced cryptocurrency markets, with his remarks particularly causing significant fluctuations in the price of Dogecoin.

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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

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