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

The memecoin season continues to generate life-changing trades 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 tokens were then sold for 503 ETH, worth approximately $1.17 million, in a mere five days, according to Lookonchain, an on-chain tracker. This trade resulted in a return of over 2,000x. 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, inspired by Elon Musk's own Shiba Inu, Floki. The design 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 for 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. The post went viral, reaching Musk, who responded with an 'ok' to making Asteroid the official SpaceX mascot. This response sparked a significant surge in the token's market cap, which rose from around $50,000 to over $20 million within hours of Musk's reply and eventually exceeded $100 million 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 $24 million in 24-hour volume. 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 increased by 20.69% over 24 hours, 28.54% over six hours, and has risen about 10x from the wallet's entry point on April 17, according to DEX Screener data.