On New Year’s Eve, Elon Musk struck again.
The billionaire entrepreneur and social media influencer once again shook up the cryptocurrency market, changing the name of his X (formerly Twitter) profile to “Kekius Maximus” and changing his image to the armorial figure of Pepe the Frog.
His shout out to Pepe, a beloved figure in meme culture, sent shockwaves through the memecoin market. Overnight, Musk’s tweet gained traction:
- The birth of a new memecoin, Kekius Maximus
- 20% price increase for $PEPE
- There has been renewed interest in frog-themed memecoins like Wall Street Pepe
With a simple profile picture, Musk showed that he remains the king of memes, from Doge to Pepe the Frog and now Kekius Maximus.
The Market Impact of Musk’s Move
Musk’s profile update resulted in the birth and meteoric rise of Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS), a meme token inspired by his new persona.
KEKIUS saw an incredible 1,200% price increase and a trading volume of over $5M in just 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Pepe Coin (PEPE), another token tied to the iconic frog meme, experienced its own spike, rising 3.4% last week.
Memes Make Money, Get Social
Pepe the Frog, created by artist Matt Furie, has transcended its roots in internet meme culture to become a symbol of the ever-evolving relationship between digital culture and financial markets.
Musk remains willing to engage with the image, highlighting the power of meme culture in the crypto market.
Just a few steps — like changing a profile picture — show how meme culture can adjust real-world economic conditions.
Musk’s actions underscore the power of celebrity endorsements and social media in influencing investor behavior and market sentiment.
PEPE Power, Big WEPE Goes?
For Elon Musk, there is always one big question: what’s next?
His name change to Kekius Maximus shows the appeal of frog-themed meme coins. $PEPE rose after Musk’s tweets, and $PEPU – Pepe Unchained – saw a spike in trading immediately after, with trading volume up 16%.
Elon Musk’s play with meme culture continues to blur the lines between comedy and finance and sets the stage for other meme coins to make big moves.
Wall Street Pepe, $WEPE, looks set to continue winning frog-themed memes. The ongoing presale, which is expected to conclude in early 2025, has already raised more than $38M.
A $1,000 investment in $PEPE in early March 2024 would have returned about $2.2K by the end of the year. That’s a gain of about 119.4% in nine months.
No investment is a sure thing; make sure you do your research and don’t take anyone’s word for it – not even Elon Musk’s.
But it’s worth asking: is $WEPE positioned to be the next big green winner?