Elon Musk’s X name change turns $66 into $3M profit for trader

A bizarre name change by Elon Musk on X to “Kekius Maximus” has led to a memecoin trader turning $66 into as much as $3 million in just 18 days.

The trader purchased 10.17 million Kekius Maximus (CRYPTO:KEKIUS) tokens on December 14, 2024, and sold 2.81 million of them for 60.3 Ether (ETH) on January 1, marking an extraordinary paper gain of 45,900-fold, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.

The KEKIUS token, a mashup of the Pepe the Frog meme and the Gladiator movie character Maximus Decimus Meridius, exploded in value after Musk’s name change.

The memecoin was created on December 13, 2024, and reached a market cap of $380 million by January 1 before dropping to $100 million after Musk reverted to his original profile name and picture.

Musk’s brief name change and posts featuring AI-generated images of a Pepe-inspired character in the Colosseum contributed to the KEKIUS token’s popularity.

One of Musk’s posts garnered 48.2 million views on X, further fueling the rally.

Despite the drop in value, over 23,600 investors still hold KEKIUS tokens, with the token’s market cap significantly reduced.

While several similar memecoins were launched on Solana (CRYPTO:SOL), they failed to attract the same level of attention from traders.

The focus shifted for Musk on January 1 when a Tesla Cybertruck he was linked to exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Musk confirmed the explosion was caused by fireworks or a bomb, and authorities are investigating the incident as a potential act of terrorism.