The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has sparked speculation after changing his name on his social media platform X to “Kekius Maximus”.

The tech mogul – and close confidant of US President-Elect Donald Trump – offered no immediate explanation for the name or his new profile image which depicts the character Pepe the Frog – a meme that has been used by far-right groups.

The move has sent ripples through the cryptocurrency world, sending the value of a memecoin – a digital currency inspired by internet memes – that shares the same name skyrocketing.

In the past, Mr Musk has influenced crypto prices with his social media commentary, but it was not immediately clear if he had any involvement in this particular memecoin.