Raydium is an automated market maker (AMM) platform on Solana, where users can swap, trade, and provide liquidity to earn yield on digital assets. It leverages the efficiency of Solana for faster and more cost-effective transactions compared to other blockchains, such as Ethereum.
Unlike traditional AMMs, which keep liquidity siloed, Raydium allows idle liquidity in its pools to be shared with central limit order books, ensuring deeper liquidity and tighter spreads. Raydium operates as a hybrid between traditional order-book-based exchanges and AMMs, enabling fast and low-cost trading on the Solana blockchain.
Raydium integrates with the Serum decentralized exchange and smart contracts to match orders, creating a decentralized version of this traditional structure.
The Raydium token (RAY) is an SPL token that operates on the Solana blockchain. It is designed as a governance token, allowing holders to participate in decision-making processes regarding the platform.
Moreover, Raydium rewards users who contribute to its liquidity pools with LP tokens, which can be staked to earn additional returns. RAY holders can stake their tokens to participate in governance and potentially earn rewards, depending on the platform’s current incentive structure.