The Kekius Maximus memecoin (KEKIUS), which skyrocketed after Elon Musk’s brief identity change, has crashed 70% as the Tesla CEO reverted to his original name.
CoinGecko data shows that the memecoin plummeted from around $0.33 to a low of $0.07 on Wednesday, wiping out over $280 million in market cap as it fell below $100 million.
Memecoins can create big profits. However, they lack any kind of lasting value if market currents change.
Despite a slight rebound, KEKIUS is still down over 50% in the last 24 hours, currently trading at $0.12. Trading volume in the last 24 hours has exceeded $350 million.
Musk’s X Name Change Drives Memecoin Trader’s Massive Gain
On Tuesday, Elon Musk adopted the “Kekius Maximus” persona on X, changing his profile name and picture. This instantly ignited trading activity, sending the KEKIUS token soaring by over 1,000%.
The Ethereum-based memecoin, created earlier this month, combines elements from internet culture, including the Pepe the Frog meme and the character Maximus from the film Gladiator.
The name “Kekius” derives from “kek,” a term popularized among gamers that conveys laughter. As Musk continued to share his new identity on X, the meme token’s value moved higher. According to CoinGecko, KEKIUS has shot up over 8,000% this week.
One trader turned a $66 investment into a potential fortune thanks to the KEKIUS rally. Lookonchain reports this individual bought 10.17 million KEKIUS tokens for $66 worth of Ether (ETH) on December 14th. By January 1, they’d sold 2.81 million tokens for 60.3 ETH, and their remaining holdings represent an impressive 45,900X unrealized return.
Capitalizing on the Kekius Maximus frenzy, traders launched KEKIUS-themed tokens on Solana but these imitations couldn’t replicate its success.
In contrast, PEPE, the popular memecoin, saw an uptick in light of KEKIUS’ rally. According to CoinGecko, the token soared 19% and remained largely unaffected even after Musk reverted his X identity and KEKIUS’s hype faded.
PEPE now trades at $0.00002, up slightly over the past 24 hours, with a market cap of over $8.5 billion.
Musk has not publicly disclosed any direct involvement with the KEKIUS token, but his influence is clearly astronomical. He has historically endorsed other cryptocurrencies, which led to their major price surged afterwards.
The most renowned case is Dogecoin, the OG meme coin which often surges following Musk’s tweets and public statements.
His playful interaction with DOGE could inspire the name of the “Department Of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E),” a new initiative led by President-elect Donald Trump, with Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at the helm. Announced on November 12, this initiative aims to tackle wasteful federal spending and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
AI Agent Tokens Will Outperform Memecoins This Year: Dragonfly Capital
Just like memes are deeply integrated into contemporary digital communication and social interaction, memecoins will always be an integral part of the cryptocurrency industry. Where there’s narrative, there’s meme.
But is there any chance that it will change this year?
Dragonfly Capital’s managing partner, Haseeb Qureshi, anticipates that AI agent tokens will outperform memecoins into 2025.
The cryptocurrency market has seen a shift from memecoins to AI agent tokens toward the end of 2024 as interest in AI chatbots and how they deliver insights and market predictions has been on the rise.
Qureshi, however, thinks AI agents may lose momentum by 2026. He forecasts the fad will end up with user backlash and a return to favoring human influencers.
The legalities surrounding these tokens remains unclear. Investors in developed economies should use caution.
AI will enhance trading, but it will primarily benefit large firms with existing capital, data, and infrastructure. It will level the playing field among these firms but won’t give individual traders a major edge. In fact, it will likely make markets more efficient, Qureshi suggests.
The post KEKIUS Memecoin Plummets 70% After Elon Musk Changes Name appeared first on Blockonomi.