The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has ignited speculation by changing his name on the social media platform X to “Kekius Maximus.”
The tech billionaire, who is also a close associate of US President-Elect Donald Trump, has not explained the new name or his updated profile picture featuring Pepe the Frog. This, a meme associated with far-right groups.
This move has caused a stir in the cryptocurrency market, with the value of a meme coin sharing the same name surging significantly.
While Musk’s social media activity has previously influenced cryptocurrency prices, it remains unclear if he has any direct connection to this particular meme coin.
“Kekius” appears to be a Latinisation of “kek”, a word roughly equivalent to “laugh out loud” popularised by gamers but now often associated with the alt right.
“Kek” is also the name of the ancient Egyptian god of darkness, who is sometimes depicted with the head of a frog.
Many people would link “Maximus” to the name of Russell Crowe’s heroic character in the film Gladiator, Maximus Decimus Meridius.
Mr Musk’s new profile image depicts Pepe in Roman military dress holding what appears to be a game console.