Elon Musk changes his name and profile photo on X (formerly Twitter) to launch a crypto token that surges in value

If you needed any more proof of just how powerful the likes of Elon Musk are, he's just caused a crypto token to surge in value after simply changing his name and profile photo

Elon Musk has sparked a 142 per cent surge in a crypto token after changing his name and profile photo on X (formerly Twitter).

The billionaire owner of the social media platform appeared on the app today (17 May) with a new identity: Kekius Maximus.

He’d also changed his leading photo to an AI-generated image of himself clad in armour, dubbing himself the ‘Emperor’.

But what the heck does it all mean?

Well, Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) is actually a cryptocurrency meme coin, and since Musk referenced it on X, it’s surged 142 per cent in value from $0.025 to $0.063 in 24 hours.

(Image: X)

Its name references the 2000 film, Gladiator, and the word ‘kek’, which is an internet slang substitute for LOL and used among meme communities.

But it’s not the first time he’s shown support for the coin - back in January he also adopted the new alter-ego, setting his profile photo to an AI-generated version of Pepe the Frog, a commonly-used character among meme-lovers and hate groups alike.

While Pepe the Frog (created by Matt Furie) doesn't have any negative connotations, it has been adopted by far-right groups to spread racism and antisemitism on sites such as Reddit, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

At that time, the cryptocurrency’s value soared by at least 700 per cent after he made the move.

"Don't Mess with Kekius Maximus!", one person wrote on X following Musk's latest promotion.

"Kekius Maximus is back, I’ve missed him", another added.

The 53-year-old has also previously lead the charge in promoting Dogecoin, even at one point changing logos across X to be their signature Shiba Inu mascot.

KEKIUS isn't currently an experts' favourite to watch in crypto according to Crypto Times, however, Musk's ability to shift markets so drastically is no doubt alarming to many.