A $575 Investment in Shiba-Inspired Token Surges to $1.17 Million in Just 5 Days

The current memecoin season continues to generate life-altering trades for individuals willing to take risks. An anonymous investor bought 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens, valued at $575, on April 17 and sold the entire stake for 503 ETH on Tuesday, which was worth approximately $1.17 million, according to data from on-chain tracker Lookonchain. This transaction, completed in just five days, yielded a return of over 2,000x. ASTEROID is an Ethereum-based memecoin, branded as 'First Shiba In Space,' and is themed around a Shiba Inu drawing created by Liv Perrotto, a teenage cancer patient who passed away in January 2026 after battling the disease for five years. Two years prior to her passing, Perrotto sketched the dog while volunteering on SpaceX's Polaris Dawn ground support team. The design, inspired by Elon Musk's own Shiba Inu, Floki, was taken on the Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024 as the crew's zero-gravity indicator. Before her death, Perrotto had written down eight questions she hoped to ask Musk, with the final one inquiring if Asteroid could become SpaceX's official mascot. After her passing, her mother shared the list publicly, which was then amplified by media personality Glenn Beck on April 16. The post went viral, reaching Musk, who responded with 'ok' to the idea of making Asteroid the official SpaceX mascot. This response sparked a surge in the token's value. The market capitalization of ASTEROID soared from approximately $50,000 to over $20 million within hours of Musk's reply and then exceeded $100 million in the following days, with over $100 million in 24-hour trading volume. At its peak, the token briefly entered the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. As of Wednesday morning, it trades at $0.0004435, with a market capitalization of $186.5 million and $24 million in 24-hour trading volume. Notably, the token lacks formal endorsement from SpaceX, has no licensing arrangement, and no confirmed involvement from Musk beyond his social media responses. The token is traded on Uniswap against wrapped ether, with a market capitalization of $186.5 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $24.3 million. The price has increased by 20.69% over the past 24 hours, 28.54% over six hours, and has risen approximately 10x from the investor's entry point on April 17, according to data from DEX Screener.