An anonymous investor made a fortune by purchasing 2.79 billion ASTEROID tokens for just $575 on April 17, only to sell them all five days later for an impressive 503 ETH, equivalent to approximately $1.17 million, as reported by the blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain. This transaction resulted in over a 2,000x return.
ASTEROID is an Ethereum-based meme token dubbed “First Shiba In Space,” inspired by a drawing of a Shiba Inu created by Liv Perrotto, a teenager who bravely faced cancer until her passing in January 2026. Two years prior to her death, while volunteering with SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn ground team, Perrotto drew the dog that was later named after Musk’s own Shiba Inu, Floki. This drawing traveled to space aboard the Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024 as a zero-gravity indicator.
Following Liv’s passing, her mother shared eight queries she had hoped to pose to Elon Musk, with the last one suggesting ASTEROID as SpaceX’s mascot. The post gained traction after being highlighted by media personality Glenn Beck on April 16, eventually catching Musk’s attention who responded affirmatively to making Asteroid the official mascot.
This endorsement caused a massive surge in ASTEROID’s market cap from about $50,000 to over $20 million within hours of Musk’s reply and later exceeded $100 million amid more than $100 million in daily trading volume. At its peak, it briefly ranked among the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
As of Wednesday morning in Europe, ASTEROID trades at a price of $0.0004435 with a market cap of $186.5 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $24 million. Despite the hype, the token lacks any formal endorsement from SpaceX, no licensing agreement, nor confirmed involvement from Musk beyond his social media engagement.
The token 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. According to DEX Screener data, its price has increased by 20.69% over the past 24 hours and 28.54% in the last six hours, marking an approximate tenfold rise from the entry point on April 17.