On December 31, billionaire Elon Musk surprised the world by changing the name of his X account (formerly Twitter) to “Kekius Maximus“. Not stopping there, he also updated his profile picture to an image of Pepe the Frog—a popular internet meme—sitting and playing a video game.
This unexpected move immediately sparked a frenzy in the cryptocurrency market. A coin named Kekius Maximus suddenly became the center of attention with explosive growth. Starting with an initial market capitalization of $10 million, Kekius Maximus on the Ethereum (ETH) network surged by 500%, reaching $50 million and peaking at $400 million. On the Solana network, the situation was even more dramatic as the meme coin skyrocketed by 10,000%, jumping from a $500,000 market cap to $50 million.
However, on the morning of January 2, 2025, Elon Musk changed his X account name and profile picture again. This unexpected action triggered a sharp decline in the value of all coins associated with Kekius Maximus. On Ethereum, Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) plummeted from a market cap of nearly $400 million to under $100 million.
Similarly, on Solana, Kekius Maximus (KM) suffered a devastating drop, losing 95% of its value and falling to one-twentieth of its peak.
Related: Memecoins Lose 30% Market Capitalization in December
In the cryptocurrency market, Elon Musk has long been regarded as a “catalyst” for speculative coin movements. His actions often carry significant weight, greatly influencing the value of digital currencies. A notable example is Dogecoin (DOGE), which gained prominence in large part due to Musk’s endorsements.
The story of Kekius Maximus once again underscores Musk’s massive influence in the crypto world but also serves as a cautionary tale about the risks investors face in this volatile market.
