SpaceX’s Mascot Shiba Dog Adds $50 Million to a Parody Token
A Shiba Inu plush toy on SpaceX’s on-line retailer has despatched a parody crypto token or meme coin into one other sharp rally.
Asteroid Shiba, an Ethereum-based meme coin constructed across the “Asteroid” plush from SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, jumped greater than 137% over the previous week, in accordance to CoinGecko.
Its market worth briefly climbed from roughly $22 million at its weekly low to about $86 million on the peak, earlier than cooling to round $60 million.
That means the token briefly added greater than $60 million in paper worth through the transfer. Even after the pullback, it stays far above the place it traded earlier than the latest wave of SpaceX-linked attention.
A Plush Toy Becomes a Trade
The set off was easy. SpaceX listed a $35 “SPACEX ASTEROID PLUSH” on its retailer, marked “coming quickly,” with the corporate saying it expects Asteroid to “land” in September.
The retailer web page describes Asteroid as a Shiba with “the fluffiest of ears” and says it was designed by “Liv P,” an honorary member of the Polaris Dawn workforce.
Crypto merchants learn that as recent gasoline for a story that had already gone viral as soon as.
Asteroid was not created as a crypto mascot. It started as a actual plush toy designed by Liv Perrotto, a younger most cancers affected person and house fan who grew to become related to the Polaris Dawn crew by means of St. Jude-linked spaceflight efforts.
The plush flew on the Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024 because the crew’s zero-gravity indicator. That is the small object astronauts use to present once they have reached microgravity.
The Emotional Origin Story
Liv mentioned Asteroid was impressed by Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu, Floki. She wished the toy to assist different youngsters consider that house was not impossibly far-off.
Before her demise in January, Liv reportedly left Musk a checklist of questions. The final query requested whether or not Asteroid might turn out to be SpaceX’s official mascot. Musk later replied publicly, and that response helped flip the toy into a full crypto narrative.
In April, ASTEROID exploded after Musk’s reply. CoinDesk reported that one nameless pockets turned a $575 commerce into about $1.17 million in 5 days throughout that first run.
The newest rally is the sequel. This time, the catalyst was not simply a social media reply. It was a SpaceX retailer itemizing.
The Line Traders Keep Blurring
The key element is the excellence between the plush and the token. SpaceX is promoting the Asteroid plush. It shouldn’t be promoting, endorsing, or backing the ASTEROID token.
The token has no formal ties to SpaceX, St. Jude, Musk, or Liv’s household, and no verified mechanism directing token proceeds to charity.
That has not stopped the market. ASTEROID now trades as a pure narrative asset: half SpaceX lore, half Shiba meme, half emotional web story.
That mixture has been sufficient to add tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in market worth inside days. It additionally means the identical consideration that lifted it might probably disappear shortly.
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