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WASHINGTON: Elon Musk adopted the moniker “Kekius Maximus” on X Tuesday, sparking speculation among his 210 million followers about his mysterious new handle that is a mash-up of an alt-right symbol, a memecoin, and the lead character of the movie “Gladiator”. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and a confidant of US Prez-elect Donald Trump, also replaced his profile picture with one of “Pepe the Frog“, a popular cartoon, wearing ancient Roman attire and holding a video game joystick.
In typical Musk fashion, the billionaire tech mogul and owner of X offered no explanation about the new username and avatar, but the move triggered immediate ripple effects, sending the value of a memecoin – a digital currency inspired by an internet meme – with the same name skyrocketing. Memecoin Kekius Maximus’s value soared by more than 900% as of Tuesday evening. It was not immediately clear if he has any involvement in the memecoin.
It also sent internet sleuths hunting for answers: Was it just for the laughs? Or was there a hidden message? His new handle appears to be a blend of “Maximus Decimus Meridius” – a Roman general played by Russell Crowe in the 2000 smash hit “Gladiator” – and “kek”, popular among the alt-right trolls that is used as a variation of “LOL”. “Kek” is also a reference to a “virtual white nationalist god”. Also, “Pepe the Frog” became associated with alt-right and white supremacists during Trump’s first prez campaign.
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