Musk’s ’Gorklon Rust’ X Rebrand Ignites Meme Coin Frenzy—Again
Elon Musk sends crypto degens into another speculative spiral with cryptic rebranding stunt. Dogecoin up 30%—because of course it is.
The Musk Effect: Meme Coins Pump on Pure Vibes
No white paper, no utility—just a single X post tweaking a logo. Traders pile in anyway, proving the ’greater fool theory’ is crypto’s most robust protocol.
Wall Street Snickers, Bags Get Heavier
While institutional investors clutch their risk models, retail traders YOLO into Shiba Inu and lesser-known joke tokens. ’This time it’s different’ whispers meet $50M liquidations.
Another day, another dopamine hit for the crypto casino. Just don’t ask what backs these ’assets’—unless you enjoy existential dread with your leverage.
Meme Coin Market Reacts Strongly to Elon Musk’s ‘Gorklon Rust’ Name Shift
For context, Gork is a parody account of xAI’s AI chatbot Grok. Known for its humorous and unconventional responses, Gork has cultivated a dedicated following on X, including Musk. The Tesla CEO announced the display name change on May 4, posting:
“Sup Gork changed my pp to urs wdyt.”
Gork’s response to Musk’s post added further fuel to the viral moment.
“Looks good, I guess. But did u have to copy my whole face like that smh,” Gork wrote.
What followed was a cascade of market activity as meme coins tied to the “gork” theme experienced unprecedented volatility. Data from DexScreener revealed that a meme coin named New XAI Gork (GORK) surged by 58.7%.
Its market capitalization exceeded $64 million. The token also secured the number two spot on CoinGecko’s trending list.
But the frenzy didn’t stop there. Shortly after, several new meme coins under the “gorklon rust” label were created. According to the latest data, these small-cap tokens saw even more staggering gains, with some surging between 4,000% and 7,000% within 24 hours.
Trading volumes for these tokens spiked, reflecting heightened speculative interest driven by Musk’s actions.
Nonetheless, the hype appears to be cooling off just as quickly. Within the past hour, several tokens have dropped sharply in price, highlighting the highly volatile and risky nature of meme coin trading, where rapid reversals are as common as sudden rallies.
Meanwhile, this latest episode mirrors Musk’s previous meme-fueled market moves. In late 2024, his adoption of the “Kekius Maximus” persona led to a 504% uptick in the KEKIUS meme coin.
Likewise, Elon Musk’s username change to “Harry Bolz” in February 2025 triggered a 3,000% surge in the HARRYBOLZ meme coin, as reported by BeInCrypto. Furthermore, Musk’s “Dogefather” antics similarly propelled related tokens to significant gains.
While Musk’s latest move has generated buzz and profits for some, it also underlines the speculative nature of meme coins, where gains can be as fleeting as the trends that drive them.
