A wager of $575 on a Shiba-themed cryptocurrency turned into $1.17 million within five days.

An unidentified wallet acquired 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens for $575 on April 17 and liquidated the entire position on Tuesday for 503 ETH, valued at $1.17 million, marking one of the year’s most notable memecoin trades.

What to know:

• An unidentified trader transformed a $575 investment in 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens into approximately $1.17 million in five days, representing a gain exceeding 2,000 times the initial investment.
• ASTEROID, an Ethereum-based memecoin inspired by a Shiba Inu illustration by late cancer patient Liv Perrotto, surged after Elon Musk responded with “ok” regarding the character becoming SpaceX’s official mascot.
• Despite a market capitalization around $186.5 million and significant trading activity on Uniswap, the ASTEROID token lacks official connections to SpaceX or St. Jude and has no verified processes to allocate funds to charity or Perrotto’s family.

The memecoin season continues to generate significant trades for those willing to take risks.
An anonymous wallet acquired 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens for $575 on April 17 and liquidated the complete position for 503 ETH on Tuesday, valued at approximately $1.17 million, according to the on-chain tracker Lookonchain. This transaction took five days and yielded a return of more than 2,000x.

ASTEROID is an Ethereum-based memecoin dubbed “First Shiba In Space.” It is themed after a Shiba Inu drawing by Liv Perrotto, a teenage cancer patient who passed away in January 2026 following a five-year struggle with the illness.

Two years prior to her passing, Perrotto illustrated the dog while volunteering with SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn ground support team. The design, influenced by Musk’s own Shiba Inu named Floki, was used during the Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024 as the crew’s zero-gravity indicator.

Liv’s Asteroid drawing that went to space with the @polarisprogram came today! They also took a special letter she got at Camp Cadet to space for her too. What an incredible gift! ❤️🚀🌎 @spacex @rookisaacman @kiddpoteet @annawmenon @gillis_sarahe pic.twitter.com/Vv0jbRN0oZ

— Rebecca Perrotto (@rebeccaperrotto) March 17, 2025

Before her demise, Perrotto documented eight questions she wished to ask Musk. The final question inquired if Asteroid could become SpaceX’s official mascot. After her passing, her mother made the list public, and media personality Glenn Beck amplified it on April 16. The post gained widespread attention, reaching Musk, who replied with “ok” regarding making Asteroid the official SpaceX mascot.

This response propelled the token’s popularity. ASTEROID’s market capitalization soared from approximately $50,000 to over $20 million within hours of Musk’s reply, eventually surpassing $100 million in the following days with more than $100 million in 24-hour trading volume.

At its highest point, the token briefly ranked among the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. As of Wednesday morning in Europe, it is trading at $0.0004435, with a market cap of $186.5 million and a 24-hour volume of $24 million.

The token has no official endorsement from SpaceX, no licensing agreement, and no confirmed involvement from Musk beyond the social media interactions.

It is traded on Uniswap against wrapped ether, boasting 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 the past 24 hours, 28.54% over six hours, and has risen nearly 10 times from the wallet’s entry point on April 17, based on DEX Screener data.