Elon Musk's X Profile Picture Change Helps Lucky Trader Turn $66 into $3M Trading KEKIUS Meme Coin

A trader made a staggering 45,900x gain trading the meme coin Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) after Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk changed the name of his X profile to Kekius Maximus.

According to crypto analytics firm Lookonchain, the trader bought 10.17 million of KEKIUS on December 14. Eighteen days later, the trader sold 2.81 million of the tokens for 60.3 Ether, resulting in a massive gain.

Turned $66 into $3.05M in just 18 days, a 45,906x return!

This trader spent 0.017 $ETH($66) to buy 10.17M $KEKIUS and sold 2.81M $KEKIUS for 60.3 $ETH($201K), leaving 7.37M $KEKIUS($2.85M).

The total profit is $3.05M.https://t.co/gx6E6yFQcz pic.twitter.com/rFrsNjCqvt

The KEKIUS meme coin was launched on December 13, quickly surging in value. By December 31, the token had already accumulated a market cap of $11.4 million.

When Musk changed his profile name and photo on X to “Kekius Maximus,” referencing a Pepe-Gladiator meme, the token went parabolic. According to CoinGeko, the token hit a market cap of $380 million on January 1.

Brothers in Arms pic.twitter.com/vIZ8ADrXbo

Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) combines the internet meme Pepe the Frog with Maximus Decimus Meridius, the protagonist of the 2000 film Gladiator.

Musk also posted an AI-generated image of Pepe the Frog preparing for battle in the ancient Colosseum in Rome. One of the AI posts with Pepe the Frog got 48.2 million views on X, helping propel the KEKIUS meme coin even higher.

Frog-Themed Meme Coins Benefit

The hype around the development also benefited other frog-themed meme coins, including the new presale Wall Street Pepe (WEPE).

WEPE is a presale that has attracted traders with the idea of a platform that offers professional market trading advice to help them beat secretive whale investors. The presale has raised almost $40 million in record time.

Another gainer was Pepe Unchained (PEPU), the standout meme coin presale of 2024 after it raised $74 million before exploding on launch.

After Musk changed his name back to its original moniker on Jan. 2, Kekius Maximus saw its market cap drop to $128 million.

Despite the decrease, many investors are still holding onto their tokens. According to CoinGecko, over 23,600 investors still hold KEKIUS tokens.