Elon Musk Becomes ‘Kekius Maximus’—But What Is He Really Up To?

In another demonstration of his online power, Elon Musk has again caused a stir in the cryptocurrency community by modifying his X (formerly Twitter) screen name—this time to “Kekius Maximus.” The tech mogul, who is famous for his mercurial social media behavior, gave no immediate reason for the new nick name.

Nevertheless, the change prompted a dramatic 119% surge in the price of the Kekius Maximus meme coin, based on data from Binance.

Familiar Digital Persona Resurfaces

This is not the first time Elon Musk has dipped his toes into using the name. Previously, he had assumed the Kekius Maximus persona in December 2024, including a profile picture of ‘Pepe the Frog’ wearing golden armor and a video game controller. The meme coin then soared by a whopping 497.56% in 24 hours, only to tank when Musk changed back to his default profile.

Elon Musk has changed his Profile name to Kekius Maximus, We are so back guys. 😂

Kek is back! ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/S5qHuuJ1Tu

— SMX 🇺🇸 (@iam_smx) May 16, 2025

The consistent pattern highlights the unstable nature of meme-based coins and the inescapable influence of Musk’s online persona.

What is Kekius Maximus?

‘Kekius Maximus’ is a cryptocurrency token that is meme-based and works on blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana. It has rapidly gained popularity among crypto traders, usually replicating the unpredictable nature of online culture. The word “Kekius” seems to combine internet slang “kek”—made popular within gaming and related to the alt-right—and “Maximus,” a reference to the legendary character acted by Russell Crowe in Gladiator.

Interestingly, “Kek” also alludes to the ancient Egyptian deity of darkness, usually symbolized by a frog head.

Gorklon Rust: A Techie Twist

Just days before, Elon Musk had rechristened himself “Gorklon Rust,” a portmanteau thought to refer to his AI chatbot “Grok” and the Rust programming language. That action also sparked a crypto wave, with the price of the GORK coin almost doubling from ₹2.62 to ₹5.24 within 24 hours.

This name change-milieu response cycle indicates that Musk’s online persona now has as much financial clout as his businesses.

The Market’s Elon Musk Obsession

Although the reasoning behind Musk’s most recent name change is still in the dark, one fact is certain: his social media actions continue to have an exaggerated impact on the crypto market. Traders and meme-coin bulls observe everything he does since even a name change has the power to reshape economic landscapes.