After Elon Musk mentioned a SpaceX mascot, meme coin Asteroid Shiba (ASTEROID) surged 920 percent. A trader who sold his holdings at a loss the day before is seen to have missed a profit opportunity worth $2.6 million (3.84 billion won).

BeInCrypto, a blockchain outlet, reported on April 19 that the wallet sold 7.43 billion tokens for $405 (598,000 won), locking in a $137 (200,000 won) loss.

On-chain analytics account Lookonchain disclosed that wallet address 0x5811 bought the tokens 80 days ago for $542 (800,000 won). As a result, the wallet exited the entire position a day before the surge and missed the subsequent run-up. The same amount is now valued at more than $2.6 million.

The immediate trigger for the price jump was Musk's social media post. Liv Perrott was a 15-year-old girl who died in January after a five-year battle with cancer and designed a Shiba Inu doll named "Asteroid" as a weightlessness indicator used in SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024. In her last question while alive, she asked Musk to make Asteroid SpaceX's official mascot, and Musk agreed.

Liv's mother, Rebecca Perrott, posted her thanks to Musk on X, formerly Twitter. She wrote, "You are not only honoring a girl's dream, you are keeping her spirit alive," and added, "Liv's love, laughter, and unbroken fighting spirit live on through Asteroid."

Asteroid Shiba then showed a sharp short-term rise. The meme coin climbed about 920 percent over the day and about 68,000 percent over the past week. Another investor is seen to have turned about $1,800 (2.65 million won) worth of ether into nearly $500,000 (738 million won) within hours of Musk's post.

It was also raised that there is no guarantee the market's reaction will translate into durability. Meme coin spikes linked to Musk were seen in the past in Gork (GORK) and Kekius (KEKIUS), but they did not last long, it reported. Asteroid Shiba was also introduced as a token with no product, roadmap or development team.

Musk has also warned about the risks of investing in meme coins. "It is foolish to expect you can make money from meme coins," he said. "Meme coins cannot guarantee success, and do not invest the money you have saved your whole life in meme coins," he said.

The surge again showed that a single remark by a celebrity can sharply sway meme coin prices in a short period. It also showed that buyers who enter late after an initial spike can take on high volatility and the risk of a sharp price reversal.

This is the unluckiest guy I've ever seen! 80 days ago, trader 0x5811 spent $542 to buy 7.43B $ASTEROID. Just one day before $ASTEROID pumped, he sold all 7.43B $ASTEROID for $405, taking a $137 loss. Today, those 7.43B $ASTEROID are worth over $2.6M. He missed a… pic.twitter.com/xHDPp5OD8p