TL;DR

Amid a broader meme coin decline, PEPE surged 6%, with its market cap surpassing $8 billion. Its revival happened shortly after Elon Musk changed his profile picture on X with a frog dressed as a Roman soldier.

PEPE on the Run

The latest crypto market correction has severely affected the meme coin sector, with many tokens charting substantial weekly declines. For instance, Shiba Inu (SHIB) is down 6%, while dogwifhat (WIF) has plunged 9%. 

The past 24 hours have also been painful for the bulls, with SHIB, BONK, PENGU, and many more heading south.

However, Pepe (PEPE) defied the negative trend, recording a 6% price upswing. The frog-themed token also saw its market capitalization rising above $8 billion again, solidifying it as the third-biggest meme coin.

PEPE Price, Source: CoinGecko PEPEs resurgence could be linked to one of Elon Musks latest interactions on X. The owner of the social media platform changed his profile picture to Kekius Maximus a frog that wears Roman armor. 

KEKIUS is a meme coin operating on multiple blockchain platforms, including Ethereum and Solana. It saw the light of day in mid-December and up until Musks post was trading sideways at approximately $0.01.

The endorsement from one of the richest people on the planet triggered a massive resurgence for KEKIUS, whose price skyrocketed by 550% in the past 24 hours. Nonetheless, its market capitalization remains below $100 million, meaning it is far from reaching the top 100 club (at least as of the moment). 

Musk and Memes

This is not the first time the billionaire has made waves in the meme coin niche with his posts on X. Musk is known as a huge proponent of Dogecoin (DOGE), often praising its merits and endorsing it on the social media platform. 

Last month, the biggest meme coin experienced a 10% price increase after Teslas CEO talked about the establishment of a Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) should Donald Trump win the US presidential elections. The Republican emerged victorious and put Musk in charge of this division.

D.O.G.E. will aim to streamline the US federal government by reducing wasteful spending and eliminating unnecessary regulatory agencies. 

Floki Inu (FLOKI) is another meme coin that has witnessed a price boost after comments from Elon Musk. In February 2023, he posted a picture of his dog dressed as the CEO of Twitter (as X was called back then). Musks pet is named Floki, which explains why the eponymous meme coin shot by over 40% shortly after the interaction.