Elon Musk, the Tesla billionaire and X owner, has exploded into the political limelight in recent months as a close advisor to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump—who has been pitched a “capital markets renaissance fueled” by bitcoin to “unlock trillions in wealth.”
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The bitcoin price has dropped back from its post-election peak of almost $110,000 per bitcoin, with the price predicted to be just weeks away from a “major” move.
Now, as Musk issues a stark U.S. bankruptcy warning, the Tesla billionaire has changed his name on X—sending the price of a small bitcoin rival surging by around 2,000%.
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ForbesThe ‘Virus Is Spreading’—Bitcoin Suddenly Braced For A ‘Major’ 2025 Price MoveBy Billy Bambrough
Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and owner of X, has changed his name on the platform, … [+] blowing up the price of a small bitcoin rival.
AFP via Getty Images
“This will be priceless,” Musk, referring to how the media will report the news, posted to X following his name change on the platform to Kekius Maximus.
Kekius Maximus appears to be a reference to his character in the Path of Exile 2 video game, a reference to the smash-hit Gladiator movie and a pun on the internet-gaming term kek, a variation of lol (laugh out loud) that originated in South Korea and on the World of Warcraft online game.
Musk’s post quoted the Adrian Dittmann account that some have speculated could be controlled by Musk, though he has denied this.
“Imagine you’re a journalist who’s writing about Elon on X and it goes: ‘Elon Musk, aka ‘Kekius Maximus’ on X…,’” Dittmann posted.
Musk’s name change on X sent the price of the cryptocurrency kekius maximus, created in mid-December following a Musk X post, up by around 2,000%, highlighting Musk’s out sized influence over the bitcoin and crypto market.
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ForbesSerious $4.1 Trillion 2025 Fed Warning Sparks $20,000 Bitcoin Price Crash FearBy Billy Bambrough
The price of kekius maximus bitcoin rival has surged following Elon Musk’s name change to match the … [+] cryptocurrency on X.
Forbes Digital Assets
Musk’s support of Trump in the run up to the November U.S. presidential election helped drive the bitcoin price higher as traders bet on Trump leading a pro-bitcoin and crypto administration.
Musk also campaigned against excessive U.S. spending, resulting in the creation of the Doge Department Of Government Efficiency, which Musk has said he believes could strip $2 trillion from U.S. spending.
The Doge department is a nod to the shiba inu doge meme that’s also linked to the dogecoin cryptocurrency, named by Elon Musk as his “favorite” cryptocurrency and accepted as payment by his Tesla car company—though Tesla continues to hold around 10,000 bitcoin worth around $1 billion on its balance sheet.
