A smart crypto trader has made a staggering 45,906x return by taking advantage of a passing trend linked to Elon Musk’s temporary name change on the X platform.
According to analytics firm Lookonchain, the trader invested 0.017 ETH (around $66) to purchase 10.17 million KEKIUS on December 14. Over the next 18 days, the trader sold 2.81 million KEKIUS for 60.3 ETH, worth $201,000, while holding 7.37 million KEKIUS, worth around $2.85 million.
According to Look on Chain's update, the total earnings amounted to $3.05 million.
Why is KEKIUS so valuable?
The massive surge in KEKIUS’s value is attributed to Musk’s temporary adoption of the name “Kekius Maximus” and changing his avatar to Pepe the Frog wearing gladiator-style armor. The reference combines the popular internet personality “Pepe” with the main character “Maximus Decimus Meridius” from the 2000 film “Gladiator.”
KEKIUS was created on December 13, and its market cap rose from $11.4 million to a peak of $389 million by January 1, according to CoinGecko data. Although it has since fallen to $145 million, the story highlights the unpredictable nature of joke coins, which are often driven by cultural phenomena.
In another development, Look on Chain revealed that another trader with the pseudonym rektdolphin.eth made a bold move by exchanging his entire 62 billion PEPE holdings — which were worth around $1.2 million — for 4.23 million KEKIUS. However, the move backfired, with his investment value dropping to just $290,000 within 12 hours.
