The meme cryptocurrency Asteroid Shiba (ASTEROID) has risen unprecedentedly, recording a jump of nearly 45,000% within 24 hours, driven by Elon Musk's interaction with a humanitarian story circulating on social media that linked the coin to a space mission by SpaceX.
📌What is the ASTEROID coin?
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ASTEROID is considered a meme cryptocurrency inspired by the "Shiba Inu" dog, developed by a girl named Liv Beruto, who was 15 years old and suffering from cancer. The coin was launched in September 2024, with a symbolic goal of linking it to the Polaris Dawn space mission.
This mission is one of the most notable private space flights, organized by SpaceX as part of the "Polaris" program, aimed at executing the first spacewalk by a non-governmental crew, led by Jared Isaacman, who later became the director of NASA.
📌From a symbolic project to a speculative wave
Despite the human aspect of the story, the currency had not previously received official recognition from Musk or SpaceX, and remained limited in circulation, traded on decentralized platforms like Uniswap.
But the story resurfaced after broadcaster Glenn Beck highlighted the girl's dream, who aspired to meet Musk and make her currency the official symbol of a space mission. However, illness did not give her the chance to realize that dream.
Broadcaster Glenn Beck mentioned that the girl passed away and left a note on her desk with a series of questions directed to Elon Musk, the most prominent of which was: Is it possible for him to make her currency a symbol of the space journey and an official logo for SpaceX?
📌Huge profits within hours
As the post spread widely, Elon Musk commented that he is considering it, saying: "I will respond soon."
Following Musk's reaction, traders rushed towards the currency, causing it to rise by about 44,923% in one day.
According to data from Arkham, some investors made huge profits in record time:
📍One trader turned 1 Ethereum into about 474 thousand dollars in 3 hours
📍Another investor made profits exceeding 210 thousand dollars