$PEPE Cousins Catch a Bid: $PURPE, $PEIPEI, $PEPU Ride the Wave

As the memecoin market steadies ahead of key macro events, one unexpected niche within the space is gaining traction — $PEPE cousins, or the growing family of Pepe-inspired tokens. After $PURPE, the purple-hued version of $PEPE built on Solana, surged to the top of the leaderboard this week, attention has started to shift to other Pepe variants. These tokens — riding on both meme familiarity and regional identity — appear to be gathering momentum, even in a relatively tight liquidity environment.

$PURPE Holds the Throne

After leading the charge earlier this week, $PURPE continues to hold ground, sustaining its upward trajectory. The token’s volume is up 27% to $1.43M, while its market cap saw a healthy 6.7% bump to $22.2M. Its liquidity base remains diversified, with Raydium holding $622K and LBank managing $416K. As a Solana-based memecoin, $PURPE offers a unique angle in a space dominated by Ethereum and BNB chain memecoins — and it seems to be resonating. The meme itself is simple: Pepe, but purple, and determined to “Make Solana Great Again.”

$PEIPEI: The Chinese $PEPE Steps Up

Perhaps most notable in the Pepe ecosystem this week is $PEIPEI, dubbed the “Chinese $PEPE.” The token posted a 27% increase in trading volume, reaching $2.2M, and added 6% to its market cap, now sitting at $17.1M. The bulk of $PEIPEI’s action is on Uniswap, with $548K in liquidity, but it’s also seeing solid traction on CEXs like Gate.io ($660K volume) and Bitmart ($611K). The balanced mix of decentralized and centralized liquidity suggests growing user interest and broader accessibility. If $PURPE can maintain momentum, $PEIPEI may be next in line for a breakout.

$PEP Struggles With Volume/MCap Imbalance

$PEP, another lesser-known cousin in the PEPE family, shows a curious case. While volume spiked by 71% to $69K, its market cap actually fell 7.6% to $17.8M. This creates a razor-thin volume-to-market cap ratio of just 0.3%, suggesting liquidity is still far too low to sustainably move the price. However, sudden volume jumps often precede sharper shifts — worth keeping an eye on whether deeper liquidity enters the market in the coming days.

$PEPU: The Unchained Pepe Waiting for Liquidity

$PEPU, branded as the “Unchained $PEPE,” posted a 4% market cap gain to $8.6M, despite a decline in trading volume by 18% to $1.7M. While momentum here is slowing, the bulk of its liquidity remains on xt.com ($700K) and BingX ($363K). As with $PEP, the liquidity flow will be a key factor in determining whether $PEPU can catch the same tailwind as $PURPE and $PEIPEI.

$PEPE Ecosystem Rally?

These price moves may seem modest in isolation, but collectively they could represent the early stages of a broader micro-trend — a rally among meme tokens inspired by or derived from $PEPE. Historically, when the OG $PEPE gains steam, its thematic offshoots tend to benefit too. With $PURPE having already proven that Solana-based memecoins can make noise, others may follow if sentiment and volume remain supportive.

The key catalyst to watch now is liquidity. With the upcoming FOMC rate decision on May 7, traders across the crypto space are cautious. But once the macro dust settles, the $PEPE cousins — especially the ones with multi-platform liquidity and growing holder bases — may rally.