Trader Turns $66 Into $3.05M Amid KEKIUS Meme Coin Frenzy

A savvy cryptocurrency trader generated a staggering return of 45,906x by capitalizing on a fleeting trend linked to Elon Musk’s brief name change on X.

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that the trader invested 0.017 Ether (approximately $66) to acquire 10.17 million Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) meme coins on December 14. Over the next 18 days, the trader sold 2.81 million KEKIUS for 60.3 Ether, or $201,000, while retaining 7.37 million KEKIUS, worth around $2.85 million.

The total profit amounted to a whopping $3.05 million, according to Lookonchain’s update.

The meteoric rise of KEKIUS is attributed to Musk temporarily adopting the name “Kekius Maximus” and changing his profile picture to Pepe the Frog clad in Gladiator-style armor. The reference combines the internet meme Pepe with Maximus Decimus Meridius, the protagonist of the 2000 film Gladiator.

KEKIUS, created on December 13, saw its market capitalization surge from $11.4 million to a peak of $389 million on January 1, as per data compiled by CoinGecko. Despite a subsequent decline to $145 million, the token’s rise highlights the unpredictable nature of meme coins often driven by cultural phenomena.

In a related development, Lookonchain also revealed that another pseudonymous trader, known as rektdolphin.eth, made a bold move by exchanging their entire holding of 62 billion PEPE tokens – which was nearly $1.2 million – for 4.23 million KEKIUS tokens. However, this backfired as the investment turned sour after their holding plummeted to $290,000 just 12 hours later.

An on-chain analyst had previously issued a warning to investors caught up in the KEKIUS frenzy, citing the speculative nature of the meme coin’s rally. Instead, the analyst advised traders to stick with more established tokens like PEPE.

“For anyone that’s buying Kekius Maximus memecoins. Whenever Elon changes his PFP and name back, you’re gonna get fucked. Just stick to $PEPE.”