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

The memecoin season continues to generate life-changing trades for adventurous investors. An anonymous wallet purchased 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 Tuesday, which was worth approximately $1.17 million, according to on-chain tracker Lookonchain. This transaction resulted in a staggering 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 had sketched 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, flew 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, and media personality Glenn Beck amplified it 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, with its market cap soaring from approximately $50,000 to over $20 million within hours of Musk's reply. The market cap 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 cap. As of Wednesday morning, it trades at $0.0004435, with a market cap of $186.5 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $24 million. Despite its success, the token lacks formal SpaceX endorsement, licensing arrangement, or confirmed Musk involvement beyond social media replies. It is currently 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 increased by 20.69% over 24 hours, 28.54% over six hours, and has risen approximately 10x from the wallet's entry point on April 17, according to DEX Screener data.