Key Takeaways
- The Solana DEX ecosystem is developing constantly, offering a range of features and tokens.
- These platforms offer low transaction costs and fast processing times, making them competitive alternatives to the DeFi on Ethereum.
- Among the top Solana DEX platforms are Raydium, Kamino Finance and Jupiter Exchange, with a handful of other protocols also attracting high-volume trading.
- Understanding the most prominent protocols can help you navigate the ecosystem and maximize your opportunities.
Since its launch in 2020, the Solana blockchain has been steadily growing, attracting both users and a community of developers to build out the Solana ecosystem. The network now proudly stands as Ethereum‘s biggest rival, with high transaction speeds, smart contract capability, and low transaction fees enabling a host of native dApps and DeFi platforms.
The network is surging in popularity, with more than 4 million daily active wallets and total value locked of over $5.6 billion as of October 2024. Sam Bankman Fried even endorsed Solana from his prison cell as he awaited trial for the FTX crash.
With the network enjoying its day in the sun, now’s the time to get familiar with DeFi on Solana. In this article, we’ll explore the top Solana DEX platforms to watch in 2024 and why trading on Solana is so popular.
12 Solana DEX Platforms to Watch in 2024
Solana’s decentralized exchanges represent some serious competition for centralized platforms. Solana projects provide a range of liquidity pools, automated market makers, and order-matching services that cater to traders of all sizes. The best Solana DEX ultimately depends on a combination of these factors. Here are 12 Solana DEX platforms to watch in 2024:
| DEX Name | Token |
|---|---|
| Raydium | RAY |
| Orca | ORCA |
| Jupiter Exchange | JUP |
| Saber | SBR |
| DLN | N/A |
| Kamino Finance | KMNO |
| DefX | N/A |
| Dexlab | DXL |
| Cropper Finance | CRP |
| Lifinity | LFNTY |
| LI.FI | N/A |
| Rubic | RBC |
1. Raydium – RAY
Key features:
- Hybrid AMM and order book
- Sophisticated order book system
- Competitive fees, yield farming, and staking opportunities
Raydium is one of Solana’s most prominent decentralized exchanges. It launched in early 2021, combining the benefits of an Automated Market Maker (AMM) with a central limit order book (like centralized exchanges).
This hybrid model allows traders to choose between the flexibility of liquidity pools and the precision of traditional order books. Raydium is also a staking platform with its native RAY, which is used for governance, token staking, and providing liquidity. Consequently, the platform has become essential in the Solana decentralized exchange landscape. In addition, Raydium has a launchpad platform and potentially other future protocol upgrades.
In December 2022, Raydium confirmed a massive exploit which led to the loss of over $2 million. This caused significant losses and triggered a crash in the market, causing the price of SOL to plummet at the time. Despite that, Raydium remains the leading DEX on Solana and its daily trading volume is as high as ever.
2. Orca – ORCA
Key features:
- Automated Market Maker with an easy-to-use interface
- Low transaction fees and fast swaps
- Provides rewards through liquidity mining
Just like Raydium, Orca launched in 2021. It’s one of the best Solana DEX platforms, offering a straightforward user interface for traders. Unlike centralized exchanges, the Orca DEX uses automated market maker technology, therefore allowing users to trade tokens without needing to rely on traditional order books.
Orca’s native token is ORCA. It’s used for governance (fostering active community engagement) and also liquidity mining, enabling users to earn rewards by staking their tokens in liquidity pools. With its strong focus on user experience and low fees, Orca is an excellent choice among the Solana DEXs for both beginners and advanced traders.
However, in March 2023, Orca banned US users from trading through its interface. The exchange noted that this will not prevent people from the US from directly interacting with the Orca DEX smart contracts.
3. Jupiter Exchange – JUP
Key features:
- Aggregates liquidity across Solana decentralized exchanges
- Best price swaps across multiple platforms
- Simple interface for seamless DEX trading
Jupiter is a liquidity DEX aggregator designed to provide the best price swaps for crypto assets across any major Solana decentralized exchange. It launched in October 2021 and released its native token on 31 January 2024. The JUP token is used in governance, future airdrops, and a community grants program.
As a result, Jupiter has become an essential tool for traders of all sizes on the Solana DEX landscape, attracting millions in trading volume. Moreover, the Jupiter DEX aggregator offers a seamless trading experience, deep liquidity across Solana DEXs, and a user-friendly interface that provides traders with the most efficient price discovery for their trades. It achieves this by aggregating liquidity from various exchanges, including Raydium and Orca, and the result is better trading performance for everyone.
In August 2024, the Jupiter exchange revealed that a malicious Chrome extension was targeting Solana users. Consequently, the extension was removed, resulting in a more secure trading experience in Solana DEXs.
4. Saber – SBR
Key features:
- Stablecoin-focused AMM
- Cross-chain liquidity support
- Low slippage trading for stable assets
Saber is a stablecoin-focused automated market maker that offers concentrated liquidity provision for stablecoins and other low-volatility assets. Since its launch in 2021, Saber has grown in popularity due to its ability to provide low-slippage trades, making it ideal for traders looking to make large stablecoin trades or other pegged assets.
The platform’s SBR token finds use cases in governance and liquidity incentives. Saber’s integration with cross-chain solutions further enhances its role as a key player in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem.
Saber founders Ian and Dylan Macalinao were under investigation by the US Justice Department in 2023. According to the allegations, the duo used fake identities to create a Solana network of interconnected financial products. This caused the two brothers to go into hiding, leaving it up to the community to keep the project alive. Ever since then, Saber has been supported by its user community through the SaberDAO.
5. DLN – No Token
Key features:
- Decentralized liquidity network
- Seamless cross-chain liquidity provisioning
- User-friendly interface
DLN is a platform providing cross-chain liquidity without the need for a traditional liquidity pool. The abbreviation itself stands for Decentralized Liquidity Network. Conversely, DLN acts as a liquidity provision network that routes orders across different blockchains, optimizing capital efficiency.
DLN finds the best possible swap routes, offering seamless swaps, cross-chain exchanges, and liquidity provider solutions. This allows users to easily execute trades. The platform launched in 2023 but it still has no native token and it’s unknown if there will be one in the future.
6. Kamino Finance – No Token
Key features:
- Automated yield optimization for Solana liquidity pools
- User-friendly interface for passive yield farming
- No native token required
Kamino Finance is an automated yield optimization platform designed to help liquidity providers maximize their returns on Solana’s liquidity pools. The platform launched in 2022, offering users a new way to manage their pooled assets.
Kamino Finance automates the yield farming process and adjusts positions in real-time. As a result, Kamino Finance reduces the manual effort required for the optimization of variable rate yields.
Kamino’s native token is KMNO and it’s used in staking. On the other hand, it also plays a role in governance. With it, holders can vote on protocol grants, reward campaigns, and the allocations of the platform. In conclusion, Kamino Finance is most popular among liquidity providers looking to earn passive income with minimal effort.
7. DefX – No Token
- Built on Solana and Arbitrum
- EVM-compatible
- Cross-chain functionality
DefX is a cutting-edge decentralized exchange (DEX) and Layer 1 (L1) blockchain built on Solana and Arbitrum. This dual-platform approach offers users the advantage of both Solana’s high-speed network and Arbitrum’s scaling capabilities. In other words, with its EVM compatibility, DefX enables seamless cross-chain functionality for Ethereum-based dApps.
One of its standout features is the perpetual futures option, which allows up to 1000x leverage, providing traders with significant flexibility and high-stakes potential. DefX aims to replicate the centralized exchange (CEX) experience while maintaining full decentralization and security.
8. Dexlab – DXL
- Token Creation
- Solana launchpad
- An all-in-on solution DEX
Dexlab streamlines the process of launching projects on Solana through a robust suite of tools. For example, at the heart of its offerings are MintingLab, which facilitates token creation, and a top-tier launchpad that supports new projects in reaching a broad audience. In addition, Dexlab’s DEX ensures a smooth listing experience, helping projects integrate seamlessly into the Solana ecosystem. Lastly, by combining these features, Dexlab provides an all-in-one solution for launching, tokenizing, and trading, making it a popular choice for developers on Solana.
Dexlab’s native token is DXL and it’s used for running validator nodes via staking, governance, and fees for processing transactions and storing data.
9. Cropper Finance – CRP
- Yield Farming and Liquidity Support
- Flexible Farm Management
- CRP Token Utility
Cropper Finance is a versatile platform in the Solana ecosystem, aimed at making yield farming more accessible and effective. It supports Solana projects by enabling the creation of liquidity pools, which strengthens Solana’s liquidity and stability. Users can also customize farming pairs, control emissions, and choose between locked and unlocked farms, with added CRP rewards for locked farms. Cropper Finance also offers trading and earning functionalities, with a fee model payable in CRP.
10. Lifinity – LFNTY
- Oracle-Based Price Feeds
- Impermanent Loss Protection
- Manual Fee Adjustments
Lifinity is the first oracle-based DEX on Solana, optimizing capital efficiency and minimizing impermanent loss by using Pyth, a decentralized oracle for asset pricing, rather than relying on traditional arbitrage. This unique setup allows Lifinity to manually set trading fees, enhancing user rewards. By strategically managing trades and price actions within its liquidity pool, Lifinity maintains market asset balance while protecting users from unnecessary impermanent loss.
Lifinity’s governance token, LFNTY, can be locked to generate veLFNTY, which grants voting power and access to protocol revenue. Furthermore, Lifinity splits its revenue, using half for LFNTY buybacks and the other half as monthly rewards for veLFNTY holders in assets like ETH and SOL. Lastly, xLFNTY, a tokenized form of locked veLFNTY, allows users the flexibility to exit by swapping for USDC.
11. LI.FI – No Token
- Cross-Chain Compatibility
- DeFi Integration
- Extensive Partnerships
LI.FI is a powerful, unified platform enabling seamless asset transfers across multiple blockchain ecosystems with one API. It serves as a bridge between DeFi infrastructure and the application layer, aggregating essential cross-chain bridges and linking them to DEXs across various networks. These include EVM-compatible chains such as Solana, and Bitcoin. LI.FI’s streamlined approach also simplifies cross-chain swaps, making it easy to move assets across chains. Integrated by platforms like Robinhood, MetaMask, and Phantom, it now partners with over 250 DeFi applications for a more cohesive asset transfer experience. So far, the platform hasn’t released a native token.
12. Rubic – RBC
- Cross-Chain Aggregation
- Wide Crypto Integration
- RBC Token Utility
Rubic offers a comprehensive cross-chain solution that aggregates blockchains, Web3 bridges, DEXs, and more, enabling seamless token and NFT swaps across EVM and non-EVM chains. At the same time, with support for over 15,500 assets and 250+ currencies, Rubic allows users to perform swaps directly within dApps. In addition, the native Rubic token, RBC, fuels the ecosystem, offering benefits like reduced fees, governance voting, and incentives for SDK integrators. RBC holders also receive partner airdrops and access to exclusive features, making Rubic a versatile tool for cross-chain interactions.
Honorable Mentions
marginfi
While marginfi didn’t make in list, it’s still an active platform with a lot of potential, which had a significant setback.
- Leverage and margin trading on the Solana network
- Permissionless and decentralized margin protocol
- Optimized for both individual trading preferences and institutions
Marginfi is a decentralized margin trading protocol that allows traders to leverage their positions on the Solana blockchain. It launched in 2022 and caters to both retail and institutional traders. Unfortunately, the CEO abandoned the project in April 2024 due to internal issues, leading to an outflow of more than $190 million from the platform.
Despite that, marginfi is still active and trying to rebuild. Most recently, the project announced a $400 million grants program for Solana developers. At the time of writing, marginfi has no governance token but this might change in the future.
Drift Protocol
- Offers leverage and low slippage for perpetual swaps
- Built on Solana for high-speed transactions and low fees
- Features a decentralized, non-custodial model for user control
Drift Protocol is a decentralized trading platform on the Solana blockchain specializing in perpetual swaps, a type of futures contract that doesn’t expire. Lastly, built to leverage Solana’s high-speed, low-cost infrastructure, Drift Protocol enables users to trade perpetual swaps with minimal slippage and competitive leverage options.
Drift Protocol emphasizes security with the platform’s decentralized nature. Furthermore, this means that users retain control over their assets at all times, without relying on centralized custody. A significant advantage in ensuring asset security and transparency.
The protocol’s native token is DRIFT and it’s used in staking and governance, allowing holders to make decisions about the future of the platform. In other words, this include picking the members of the Security Council, a dedicated governing body tasked with picking new assets, determining fees, adjusting risk parameters, and more. Drift also rewards on-chain activity with its FUEL token.
Why Trade Crypto on Solana Anyway?
Ethereum may dominate the DeFi space but Solana offers unique advantages that make it a compelling alternative. The Solana blockchain is known for its high-speed transactions and low costs, which have attracted developers and traders looking for more scalable solutions.
Not too long ago, gas fees on Ethereum were sky-high. Furthermore, even with the recent reductions after the Dencun upgrade, fees on Solana are much lower with a fraction of a SOL per transaction. On top of that, Solana is lightning-fast. It reaches over 3000 transactions per second, trumping the Ethereum mainnet’s 15 tps.
Solana Features
Solana’s has grown a lot over the years and continues to develop further. It continues to attract more and more users and developers thanks to its features:
- Low Transaction Costs: One of Solana’s most significant advantages is its ultra-low transaction costs, which are a fraction of those on Ethereum and translate to low trading fees.
- Fast Processing Times: Solana’s block times are as low as 400 milliseconds. As a result, Solana is among the fastest blockchains available.
- Promising Developer Community: With a rapidly growing Solana ecosystem of developers building on Solana, the blockchain has a bright future in terms of innovation.
- Scaling Potential: Solana’s architecture allows it to scale without sacrificing performance. Consequently, this makes it well-suited for handling a large trading volume of transactions and dApps.
Solana Trading Risks to Know
Solana offers numerous advantages but decentralized trading also comes with some inherent risks. It’s essential to be aware of these primary concerns and incorporate some security measures.
Smart Contract Vulnerabilities
Like all DeFi platforms, Solana’s smart contracts are susceptible to bugs and exploits. For example, in 2022, a vulnerability in one of Solana’s popular dApps led to a significant network outage, affecting users across the ecosystem. In conclusion, always ensure you’re using audited smart contracts and trusted platforms.
Lack of Regulation and Oversight
Solana’s DeFi ecosystem operates in a largely unregulated space, which means users are at risk of losing funds in the event of hacks or failed projects. The lack of regulation also means there is no recourse for recovering lost assets.
Solana isn’t currently listed as a security but that may change in the future. Such a shift could affect the market and the network. Therefore, investors should carefully weigh their risk tolerance.
Liquidity Challenges
Although Solana has grown rapidly, some decentralized exchanges may face liquidity challenges, especially during periods of high volatility. Traders may occasionally face lower liquidity and experience slippage problems during trade execution. Make sure you’re using a popular exchange that has high concentrated liquidity.
Complexity and Technical Barriers
Solana’s DeFi features and advanced trading tools can be overwhelming for new users and sometimes even for experienced traders. While this is not an issue specific to Solana, it can prevent newcomers from joining the space and hinder further adoption. Understanding how a liquidity pool, staking, and yield farming work is crucial before committing funds to any platform.
Closing Thoughts
Solana DEXs offer an exciting alternative to DeFi on Ethereum, with faster transactions, lower fees, and the same pace of innovation. The best Solana DEX platforms provide capital efficiency but also a range of different options for traders and a low latency trading environment.
As always, before you dive into the Solana DeFi ecosystem, conduct thorough research and be aware of the risks involved.
