One trader flipped a single ETH into more than $470,000 in just a few hours. Another held a position for 580 days watching it sit near zero, then walked away with close to $392,000. Both made their money on the same token — a memecoin called Asteroid Shiba — after a two-word reply from Elon Musk lit up crypto markets on Friday.
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Asteroid Shiba: A Wish That Sparked A Frenzy
The story behind the token is unlike most in the memecoin world. Asteroid Shiba was inspired by a plush Shiba Inu dog designed by Liv Perrotto, a 15-year-old girl who died after battling cancer.
The toy wasn’t just a craft project — it actually flew aboard a space mission as a zero-gravity indicator. Before she passed, Liv had one request for Musk: make Asteroid the official mascot of SpaceX.
ASTEROID went from $50K market cap 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 would make Asteroid into SpaceX’s mascot. pic.twitter.com/WiKocpDX9P
— Arkham (@arkham) April 17, 2026
Musk replied to the post with three words — “Will answer shortly.” That was enough. Within hours, the token’s market cap shot from roughly $50,000 to more than $20 million.
Radio host Glenn Beck had shared Liv’s story publicly, drawing wide attention to her connection to space exploration and her wish to reach Musk. Once Musk’s reply circulated, traders moved fast.
At 15 years old, Liv Perrotto’s biggest dream was to meet @elonmusk. She had even written out a list of questions to ask him. Her mother @rebeccaperrotto told me that just days before she passed away from cancer, she had a chance to speak with 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 token’s rise was steep and quick. Reports indicate that traders — including large-wallet buyers known in crypto circles as whales — piled in almost immediately after Musk’s comment appeared.
Figures from Coingecko show ASTEROID exploded to over 68,000% rally in the last seven days.
State of the trenches:
Degens are betting 5-6 figure positions that Elon Musk will make $Asteroid the mascot of SpaceX pic.twitter.com/RXb4gOpNh8
— Wals (@walsxbt) April 17, 2026
One trader was described in reports as betting a six-figure sum on the possibility that Musk might formally adopt Asteroid as a SpaceX symbol. Reports note that the token gained extra momentum on Ethereum, where deeper market liquidity helped fuel the climb.
The early holder who turned $21,000 into nearly $392,000 had kept that position through a year and a half of near-zero returns. Timing, in this case, made all the difference.
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What Comes Next Depends On One Man
The token has no product, no roadmap, and no corporate backing. Its entire value is tied to whether Musk says anything more. Reports say the rally was driven entirely by the story around it — the emotion, the space connection, and the open question of what Musk will do.
If he follows up, the token could climb further. If he goes quiet, the price could drop just as fast as it rose.
As of Friday, Musk had not made any additional statement about Asteroid or SpaceX.
At the time of writing, ASTEROID price was down 40% in the last 24 hours, following a massive 68,428% increase last week, data from Coingecko shows.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView