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

The memecoin season continues to yield life-changing trades for daring investors. An anonymous wallet acquired 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens, an Ethereum-based memecoin dubbed 'First Shiba In Space,' for $575 on April 17. The entire position was then sold for 503 ETH on Tuesday, equivalent to approximately $1.17 million, as reported by on-chain tracker Lookonchain. This transaction took only five days to complete and generated a return exceeding 2,000x. ASTEROID is themed after 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. Perrotto had designed the dog while volunteering for SpaceX's Polaris Dawn ground support team two years prior to her death. The design, inspired by Elon Musk's own Shiba Inu, Floki, was flown on the Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024 as the crew's zero-gravity indicator. Before her passing, Perrotto had written down eight questions she hoped to ask Musk, including whether Asteroid could become SpaceX's official mascot. After her death, 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 an 'ok' to making Asteroid the official SpaceX mascot. This response sparked a surge in the token's value. ASTEROID's market cap soared from around $50,000 to over $20 million within hours of Musk's reply and eventually 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 cap. As of Wednesday's European morning hours, it trades at $0.0004435, with a market cap of $186.5 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $24 million. Notably, the token lacks formal SpaceX endorsement, licensing arrangement, or confirmed Musk involvement beyond social media replies. It is traded on Uniswap against wrapped ether, with a market cap of $186.5 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $24.3 million. The price has risen by 20.69% over 24 hours, 28.54% over six hours, and has increased approximately 10x from the wallet's entry point on April 17, according to DEX Screener data.