Change to Elon Musk's X account sends 'Pepe Coin' value soaring
Elon Musk changing his username on X (formerly Twitter) to 'Kekius Maximus' and updating his profile picture to an image of 'Pepe the Frog' has caused a stir on social media, while also driving up the value of a cryptocurrency sharing the same name. The motive behind Musk's move has become a subject of curiosity.
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The world's richest person, Elon Musk, has changed the username of his account on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which he owns. It was observed that the billionaire businessman changed his name on X to 'Kekius Maximus'. Musk did not provide any explanation regarding this change.
According to a BBC report, Musk's decision to change his profile picture to an image of 'Pepe the Frog' alongside his name sparked speculation. The report noted that the 'Pepe the Frog' character is often used by far-right groups, and stated that this move also caused fluctuations in the cryptocurrency world. Accordingly, the value of a digital 'memecoin' inspired by internet memes and bearing the same name has 'soared'. It remains unclear whether Musk has any direct connection to 'Pepe coin'.
WHAT DOES 'KEKIUS MAXIMUS' MEAN?
According to the BBC's analysis, the word 'Kekius' appears to be a Latinized version of 'kek', an equivalent for the expression 'laughing out loud' (LOL). Kek is also the name of a god of darkness in Ancient Egypt, who is depicted with a frog's head. For many, the second name Musk chose, Maximus, is a reference to the character Maximus Decimus Meridius from Russell Crowe's film 'Gladiator'.
It was also observed that Elon Musk included the 'Pepe' character dressed as a Roman soldier and appearing to play with a game console in his profile picture.