Kekius Maximus KEKIUS/USD, a meme coin that rose to fame following a mention by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has lost more than 92% of its value since its peak.
What happened: The Ethereum ETH/USD-based cryptocurrency ran up to hundreds of millions in market value after Musk changed his name on X to Kekius Maximus—a combination of "Pepe the Frog" and “Maximus Decimus Meridius,” the iconic character from the movie "Gladiator."
KEKIUS surged more than 600% over the next 24 hours, hitting a peak value of $0.3958. However, the success lasted just a short time.
A day later, Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Space X, reverted to his original X avatar, triggering a dramatic crash for the coin. Today, KEKIUS is down 92% from its peak, with over $300 million in its market capitalization eroded.
KEKIUS has failed to secure a listing on major cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, indicating the prolonged downturn.
See Also: Robert Kiyosaki Predicts Yet Another Stock Market Crash, Pitches Bitcoin Investments — Here’s What The ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ Author Said
Why It Matters: KEKIUS's example serves as a cautionary tale for meme coins that derive their value from social media trends and which lack community support like those of successful meme coins like Dogecoin DOGE/USD and Shiba Inu SHIB/USD.
Billionaire investor and television personality Mark Cuban dismissed meme coins as a “game of musical chairs with money,” underscoring that some people will make money while others can face big losses.
Meanwhile, meme coins centered around festive themes, such as the Lunar New Year, and those inspired by the latest AI sensation DeepSeek, were also gaining popularity, but questions about their liquidity and modest market value cast doubt.
Price Action: At the time of writing, KEKIUS was exchanging hands at $0.02921, up 3.47% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
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