One trader converted a single ETH into over $470,000 in just a few hours. Another held a position for 580 days and saw it was around zero, then walked away with almost $392,000. Both made their money from the same token – a memecoin called Asteroid Shiba – after a two-word response from Elon Musk lit up the crypto markets on Friday.
Related reading
Asteroid Shiba: A wish that led to a frenzy
The story behind the token is different than most in the memecoin world. Asteroid Shiba is inspired by a plush Shiba Inu dog designed by Liv Perrotto, a 15-year-old girl who died after a battle with cancer.
The toy wasn’t just a craft project; it actually flew aboard a space mission as a gravity indicator. Before she passed away, Liv had one request for Musk: make Asteroid the official mascot of SpaceX.
ASTEROID went from a market cap of $50,000 to a peak of $23 million today. What is it?
Asteroid is a shiba inu designed by Liv Perrotto, a 15-year-old girl with cancer who tragically passed away earlier this year.
She wanted to ask Elon if he wanted to make Asteroid SpaceX’s mascot. pic.twitter.com/WiKocpDX9P
— Arkham (@arkham) April 17, 2026
Musk replied to the post with three words: “I will reply soon.” That was enough. Within hours, the token’s market cap shot from around $50,000 to over $20 million.
Radio host Glenn Beck had publicly shared Liv’s story, drawing widespread attention to her connection to space exploration and her desire to reach Musk. Once Musk’s response circulated, traders acted quickly.
At the age of 15, Liv Perrotto’s biggest dream was to meet @elonmusk. She had even written down a list of questions to ask him. Her mother @rebeccaperrotto told me that a few days before she died of cancer, she had a chance to talk to Elon, but she was too tired and… pic.twitter.com/zTRMreMFhM
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) April 16, 2026
Whales and Degens rush in
According to data shared by Arkham, the the rise of the sign was steep and fast. Reports indicate that traders — including deep-wallet buyers known in crypto circles as whales — flooded in almost immediately after Musk’s comments appeared.
Figures from Coingecko show that ASTEROID has exploded by more than 68,000% in the past seven days.
Condition of the trenches:
Degens is betting on 5- to 6-figure positions that Elon Musk will achieve $Asteroid the SpaceX mascot https://t.co/NU3LS3kucD pic.twitter.com/RXb4gOpNh8
— Waltz (@walsxbt) April 17, 2026
Reports detailed that one trader had bet a six-figure sum on the possibility of Musk formally adopting Asteroid as a SpaceX symbol. Reports note that the token gained additional momentum on Ethereum, where deeper market liquidity helped fuel the climb.
The early owner who turned $21,000 into almost $392,000 had held that position through a year and a half of near-zero returns. Timing made the difference in this case.
Related reading
What comes next depends on one man
The token has no product, no roadmap and no corporate backing. Its full value depends on whether Musk says anything else. Reports say the rally was driven entirely by the story surrounding it – the emotion, the space connection and the open question of what Musk will do.
If he follows this up, the token could rise further. If he stays still, the price could fall as quickly as it rose.
As of Friday, Musk had not made any additional statements about Asteroid or SpaceX.
At the time of writing, the ASTEROID prize drop of 40% in the past 24 hours, following a massive 68,428% increase last week, Coingecko data shows.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView