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

The memecoin market continues to yield life-changing opportunities for those willing to take risks. An anonymous investor bought 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens, an Ethereum-based memecoin dubbed 'First Shiba In Space,' for $575 on April 17. The investor then sold the entire position for 503 ETH on April 23, worth approximately $1.17 million, according to Lookonchain data. This transaction resulted in a return of over 2,000x in just five days. ASTEROID 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. Perrotto's design was inspired by Elon Musk's Shiba Inu, Floki, and was featured 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. Following 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. Musk's response sparked a surge in the token's market cap, which grew from approximately $50,000 to over $20 million within hours and eventually surpassed $100 million 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 April 24, the token trades at $0.0004435 with a market capitalization of $186.5 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $24 million. 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 its price increasing by 20.69% over 24 hours, 28.54% over six hours, and climbing approximately 10x from the investor's entry point on April 17, according to DEX Screener data.