Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS), the meme coin based on Ethereum, surged 88% on Thursday, following a post by tech mogul Elon Musk on X. This spike took many by surprise, as the trading volume of KEKIUS skyrocketed 197%, reaching $24.01 million.
The rise of meme coins is not unique - another frog-themed coin, Pepe (PEPE), also increased by nearly 7%, despite the decline across the overall meme coin market.
The protest was sparked by Musk’s latest X post, which featured a framed picture of “Kekius Maximus” - a playful combination of Pepe the Frog and Maximus from the movie Gladiator. The post also included a “Make America Great Again” hat and a DOGE sign on Musk’s desk.
This is not the first time Musk’s activities on X have affected meme coins—he used the name Kekius Maximus as his profile on X in December 2024, bringing KEKIUS to new heights. However, those achievements quickly faded when Musk reverted to his previous avatar.
At the time of writing, KEKIUS is trading at $0.0287, reflecting an 83% increase in just 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
Although the meme coin market is often associated with high risks and unpredictability, the role of Elon Musk cannot be denied. Like any other meme coin, it comes with high risk as the value of such coins is determined by trends and emotions on social media.
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