Ethereum meme coin Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) surged on Thursday after Elon Musk posted an image on X (formerly known as Twitter) in tribute to the fictional frog.
Showing off his office setup at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a painting appears to be patched over digitally with a screengrab of Kekius Maximus. The meme coin then leapt 60%, spiking to $0.03, according to the crypto data provider CoinGecko.
Over the course of the last day, KEKIUS has jumped by nearly 72% to a current price of $0.026.
Kekius Maximus soared as high as $0.40 in January, when Musk first dawned the frog as his profile picture on X. When Musk’s account reverted back to its normal state days later—showing the billionaire’s face—the meme coin’s value began plummeting.
Musk’s love for Dogecoin has been well documented for years, but the tech CEO’s infatuation with Kekius Maximus only dates back to December. Musk first described an image of “Pepe the Frog Emperor” on X as “amazing,” weeks before he adopted it as his profile picture.
In a comment to his post on Thursday, Musk described Kekius Maximus as a “late great.” He also linked to the song “Now We are Free,” performed by Croatian music duo, 2Cellos.
An alternative version of the somber melody was featured in the film “Gladiator.” Recorded by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, the film’s score was later nominated for an Academy Award. The popular film features a character named Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman military commander portrayed by Russell Crowe.
Musk’s social media antics have impacted the price of many meme coins, including CumRocket, a meme coin previously linked to disgraced FTX mogul Sam Bankman-Fried.
Musk also claimed Kekius Maximus as his character’s name in the video game Path of Exile. At one point, it appeared that Musk had lost the title when his character died, but the tech CEO later clarified that he was able to get the name back.
Musk’s post on Thursday didn’t explicitly mention video games. However, his desktop computer featured a bulky graphics card, which is part and parcel of most gaming setups.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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