PEPE, the frog-themed meme token originally launched on Ethereum, crossed $40 million in trading volume on Solana within roughly a day of its debut on the network via Sunrise, an asset orchestration layer built on Wormhole infrastructure.
The volume milestone, reported on September 19, marks one of the fastest ramps for a newly listed asset on the platform. Sunrise-listed assets collectively crossed $10 billion in lifetime Solana trading volume by early September 2026, according to the platform.
How Sunrise Functions
Sunrise operates as an orchestration layer rather than a traditional cross-chain bridge or launchpad. The platform creates what it describes as "canonical tokens," meaning there is one official version of PEPE on Solana rather than multiple competing wrapped variants. This single version is distributed across Solana's major decentralized exchanges, including Raydium, Orca, and Meteora, with liquidity provided from launch.
Market Conditions and Token Migration
PEPE originated on Ethereum and built its community there, though Ethereum's transaction costs and speed have presented friction for the rapid-fire, small-dollar trading preferred by meme token traders. The $40 million volume in roughly 24 hours suggests that a portion of PEPE's trading community was awaiting a clean on-ramp to Solana.
The timing of PEPE's Solana debut coincided with a broader market rebound that had already elevated trading volumes for the token across multiple venues. The broader migration of meme tokens to Solana reflects wider cross-chain asset activity, with Raydium, Orca, and Meteora each providing different liquidity profiles and trading mechanics.
Sunrise began operating in November 2025 with a core thesis that external assets and tokens native to other chains should be able to integrate into Solana's DeFi ecosystem without the fragmentation typically associated with such migrations.
