Kekius Maximus memecoin tumbles after Elon Musk reverts X profile name

Ethereum-based Kekius Maximus saw its value tumble on Wednesday after Elon Musk changed his social media profile back from the memecoin namesake.

Musk changed his X profile name to Kekius Maximus on New Year’s Eve alongside a post that stated “Brothers in Arms.” The Kekius Maximus Pepe the Frog meme combines "kek," a slang term associated with humor and absurdity, with "Maximus," referencing the Maximus Decimus Meridius character from the 2000 film Gladiator.

Musk didn’t explain the change but teased it in an earlier post, stating, "Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE," referencing the video game Path of Exile 2, which Musk is known to play.

The Kekius Maximus memecoin (ticker: KEKIUS) was created on Dec. 14 and soared more than 30x from a market cap of around $12 million ahead of Musk adopting the name to over $380 million at its peak, according to data from CoinGecko. In terms of price, that represented a jump from $0.01 to $0.39. Numerous copycat tokens were also launched on Solana without the same success.

KEKIUS market cap. Image: CoinGecko.

Kekius Maximus market cap drops more than $300 million

However, after Musk reverted his profile back to his real name on New Year's Day, the memecoin plummeted 75% to $0.077, or a $77 million market cap, in just over an hour as traders rushed for the exit. It has since recovered slightly and is currently trading for $0.157, per CoinGecko.

KEKIUS/USD price chart. Image: CoinGecko.

One trader who bought $66 worth of KEKIUS on the day it launched had turned that into a paper profit of more than $3 million by Wednesday, blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain posted, but they were not able to realize the full gain ahead of the dump.

However, another lucky trader was quicker to respond, realizing a gain of $2.3 million, according to analytics platform GMGN. Etherscan data shows the token still has more than 24,000 holders.

Musk’s name reversion came as his attention was drawn toward more serious matters as a rented Cybertruck containing fireworks and possibly a bomb exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, the Tesla CEO said.