Musk’s new profile image shows Pepe the Frog clad in golden armor while holding a video game controller.
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has sparked speculation after changing his name on his social media platform X to “Kekius Maximus”.
The tech mogul – and close confidant of US President-Elect Donald Trump – offered no immediate explanation for the name or his new profile image which depicts the character Pepe the Frog – a meme that has been used by far-right groups.
The move has sent ripples through the cryptocurrency world, sending the value of a memecoin – a digital currency inspired by internet memes – that shares the same name skyrocketing.
In the past, Musk has influenced crypto prices with his social media commentary, but it was not immediately clear if he had any involvement in this particular memecoin.
“Kekius” appears to be a Latinisation of “kek”, a word roughly equivalent to “laugh out loud” popularised by gamers but now often associated with the alt right.
“Kek” is also the name of the ancient Egyptian god of darkness, who is sometimes depicted with the head of a frog.
Many people would link “Maximus” to the name of Russell Crowe’s heroic character in the film Gladiator, Maximus Decimus Meridius.
Musk’s new profile image depicts Pepe in Roman military dress holding what appears to be a game console.
There are a few hints. according to NY Post
Elon watchers online have suggested that the new moniker is a bizarre combination of Pepe the Frog and Russell Crowe’s character, Maximus Decimus Meridius, in the 2000 blockbuster “Gladiator.”
Musk’s new profile image shows Pepe the Frog clad in golden armor while holding a video game controller.
Pepe, which started off as simply a cartoon in the “Boy’s Club” comic series, allegedly became associated online with white supremacists and the alt-right during the 2016 presidential election.
The Anti-Defamation League dubbed the character a hate symbol and described it as the “Alt Right’s favorite meme.”
However, Musk and many others who are chronically online have always rejected those claims.
A link to gaming?
The Tesla founder teased his handle change in a post on X on Tuesday, writing: “Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE.”
PoE is an apparent reference to the popular “Path of Exile 2” video game, which Musk is known to play.
Connection to cryptocurrency?
Kekius Maximus is also the name of a “memecoin” — a cryptocurrency based on a popular online meme.
Musk has previously caused massive ripple effects in the crypto market with his social media antics — notably with the dogecoin.
In the wake of Musk’s handle change, the Kekius Maximus crypto’s value soared by more than 900% as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the CoinGecko site.
It wasn’t immediately clear, though, if Musk — who has previously shown support for memecoins — has anything to do with Kekius Maximus specifically.
BBC/ NY Post
