Meme coins have repeatedly delivered extreme moves during market-wide bull runs, and that pattern is playing out once again in the current market. Traders following the sector are watching PEPE and PENGU closely after both tokens posted seven-day gains above 50%.

PEPE, an Ethereum-based token launched in 2023 as an homage to the Pepe the Frog internet character, trades near $0.000004 with a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, up 55% across the last week. PENGU is trading around $0.0095 with a $599 million market capitalization, up 15% in the past day and 59% over the week.

Dogecoin, created in 2013 as a joke riff on Bitcoin that grew into the sector's flagship, and Shiba Inu, launched in 2020 as an Ethereum-based alternative, have each advanced by more than 20% week-on-week, while Donald Trump's official meme coin has surged by approximately 70%. The total meme token market capitalization now stands at $29.7 billion, up 7.5% today, with volume at $4.74 billion after cooling off significantly on a 23% daily drop — a pullback market watchers often track as a gauge of participation between rallies.

These gains have arrived as established meme projects continue to attract attention, early-stage opportunities remain active, and crypto presales keep drawing capital because they let participants enter at lower valuations before exchange listings. One project highlighted in the current environment by the ICO Bench release is Maxi Doge (MAXI), which has built steady momentum through its ongoing presale and is presented as an early-exposure option for the meme sector.

Meme Tokens Hold Momentum as Bull Run Stabilizes

PEPE and PENGU have led the most recent action among major meme coins. PEPE's seven-day advance of more than 54% has come with solid trading volume near $495 million, while its circulating supply remains at 413.77 trillion tokens. PENGU has climbed nearly 60% over the same period, supported by 24-hour trading volume exceeding $480 million in recent sessions and a circulating supply of 62.86 billion tokens.

The broader meme category has seen Dogecoin post a 29% weekly gain, placing DOGE around the $0.09 level with a $15.6 billion market capitalization, while Shiba Inu has risen 22% to reach a $3.2 billion valuation.

From a technical analysis point of view, PEPE has drawn significant attention after chart watcher Crypto With Gopal highlighted a bullish pennant on the token's hourly chart. According to that analysis, $0.0000045 is the next level for bulls to break, potentially setting a new upside target around $0.0000062.

$PEPE /USDT Printing a Bullish Pennant After a strong upward move, price is consolidating inside a tight triangle — a classic sign of momentum compression. A clean breakout above 0.0000045 could trigger the next expansion move toward 0.0000062 Bulls are holding the… pic.twitter.com/cn7z87T3wC

— Crypto With Gopal (@cryptowithgopal), August 24, 2026 (X post)

Meanwhile, PENGU — the token tied to the Pudgy Penguins brand, which began as an Ethereum NFT collection in 2021 and has since expanded into physical toys and other consumer merchandise — has seen its gains coincide with continued visibility outside pure crypto trading, helping sustain the token's volume. As the release notes, these moves illustrate how selected meme tokens can outperform when sentiment turns constructive. At the same time, many participants are looking beyond already-listed names toward projects still in their funding phases that offer lower entry points and built-in incentives. Over the last several months, that search has directed attention toward the Maxi Doge (MAXI) presale.

Maxi Doge Builds Dedicated Following as Meme Coin Strength Remains

Maxi Doge (MAXI) is a high-energy meme token centered on extreme leverage trading culture and community rewards. MAXI has a fixed total supply of 150.24 billion tokens, and the project has allocated a substantial portion of that supply to the presale, giving early buyers exposure before MAXI's exchange debut. Token utility centers on staking, community contests for top performers, and partner events that include futures platform integrations and gamified tournaments.

The Maxi Doge roadmap is now due to move through new community growth efforts, influencer outreach, and listings on decentralized and centralized exchanges.

We need a new crypto king … $MAXI pic.twitter.com/J7ydcJ5py4

— MaxiDoge (@MaxiDoge_), August 5, 2026 (X post)

The project has raised more than $4.84 million so far, with the MAXI token priced at $0.0002835 during the current stage. Staking yields are set at a 64% APY and are paid from a dedicated rewards pool. Maxi Doge's meme branding, structured fundraising, and yield mechanics have attracted capital at a time when larger meme coins are posting double-digit weekly gains, helping to set up the next phase of the project's development, according to the release.

Presale Framed as Early-Entry Opportunity as Meme Coins Rally

With PEPE and PENGU delivering strong seven-day returns and the wider meme category remaining active, the release points to projects still in presale stages as a source of early exposure for participants. It cites Maxi Doge's current price of $0.0002835, the more than $4.84 million already raised, and the 64% APY staking rewards rate as defining an entry window ahead of MAXI's CEX and DEX listings, and notes that the token's fixed supply and community-focused utility add structure that many pure meme launches lack. Presale-stage tokens generally cannot be traded until those listings go live, so early buyers accept a period of illiquidity, and the advertised yield depends on the dedicated rewards pool — mechanics that separate presale participation from buying coins already trading on exchanges.

Participants who stake during the MAXI presale can begin accumulating rewards immediately, even as the project advances through its roadmap toward exchange listings and industry partnerships, the release states. In a market where established meme tokens have already run substantially, ICO Bench frames this combination of low relative valuation, ongoing fundraising progress, and built-in yield as the basis for its "best crypto to buy" designation — promotional language from the publisher rather than an independent assessment. Against that backdrop, the sector's near-term reference points include the $0.0000045 PEPE level flagged in the chart commentary, the trajectory of meme-sector volume after its 23% daily drop, and the timing of MAXI's planned CEX and DEX listings on the roadmap.

This article is based on a press release originally published by ICO Bench: Best Crypto to Buy as PEPE and PENGU Gain Over 50% in 7 Days.