Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) meme coin woke up from slumber, skyrocketing over 70% Thursday, after tech mogul Elon Musk posted a photo referencing the cartoon character.

What happened: The Ethereum (CRYPTO)-based cryptocurrency jumped 75% in the last 24 hours, while its trading volume soared 197% to $18.73 million. Another popular frog-themed token, Pepe PEPE/USD, also spiked nearly 7%, defying losses in the larger meme coins.

The rally followed Musk’s X post, which featured a DOGE plaque on an office desk, a “Make America Great Again” cap, and, more importantly, a framed photo of “Kekius Maximus” in the background.

Kekius Maximus—a combination of “Pepe the Frog” and "Maximus Decimus Meridius," the iconic character from the movie “Gladiator,” shot to prominence after Musk used it as his X profile name on Dec. 31, 2024. The meme coin accumulated millions in market capitalization.

See Also: Cathie Wood Believes Most Memecoins Will Face ‘Fearsome Declines,’ But They Could End Up Becoming Collector’s Items

However, the gains were swiftly erased after Musk returned to his old avatar. Since then, the meme currency has had nothing much to talk about.

No prizes for guessing the image was generated through artificial intelligence, but it was intended to demonstrate Musk’s efforts in his Department of Government Efficiency initiative.

Price Action: At the time of writing, KEKIUS was exchanging hands at $0.02871, up 75.08% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. PEPE traded at $0.000007704, up 6.97%.

Benzinga Note: Investing in meme coins and cryptocurrencies is highly speculative and involves significant risk. Meme coins often lack intrinsic value and are driven by market sentiment, social media trends, and speculative trading.

Image via Shutterstock

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