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

The memecoin season continues to yield life-changing opportunities for daring investors. An unnamed wallet acquired 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens for $575 on April 17, then sold the entire stake for 503 ETH on Tuesday, equivalent to approximately $1.17 million, as reported by on-chain tracker Lookonchain. This transaction, which took five days to complete, resulted in a return exceeding 2,000x. ASTEROID is an Ethereum-based memecoin dubbed 'First Shiba In Space,' inspired by 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 for SpaceX's Polaris Dawn ground support team. The design, which drew inspiration from 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 death, Perrotto had written down eight questions she hoped to ask Musk, with the final one inquiring whether Asteroid could become SpaceX's official mascot. Following her passing, her mother shared the list publicly, and media personality Glenn Beck amplified it on April 16. The post went viral, reaching Musk, who responded with 'ok' to making Asteroid the official SpaceX mascot. Musk's response sparked a surge in the token's value. ASTEROID's market capitalization skyrocketed from approximately $50,000 to over $20 million within hours of Musk's reply, then exceeded $100 million in the subsequent days, with 24-hour trading volumes surpassing $100 million. At its peak, the token briefly entered the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. As of Wednesday's European morning hours, it trades at $0.0004435, with a market capitalization of $186.5 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $24 million. The token lacks formal endorsement from SpaceX, has no licensing arrangement, and no confirmed involvement from Musk beyond his social media responses. It 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 24 hours, 28.54% over six hours, and has risen roughly 10x from the wallet's entry point on April 17, according to data from DEX Screener.