Raydium

Raydium (RAY) is an automated market maker native to Solana that first distinguished itself by feeding its pool liquidity into Serum's central limit order book, giving liquidity providers access to shared order flow rather than an isolated pool.

How Raydium rebuilt around its AMM and launchpad

When Serum collapsed alongside FTX, Raydium lost that backbone and rebuilt around its own AMM and a token launchpad. It has since become one of Solana's highest-volume venues, in large part as the destination where tokens graduating from memecoin factories bootstrap their liquidity. The RAY token captures a slice of trading activity through protocol fees, some of which fund buybacks, tying its economics to Solana's throughput of speculative volume.

RAY as leveraged exposure to Solana activity

That linkage is both the thesis and the hazard. When Solana trading runs hot, Raydium's fee base and RAY demand ride the wave; when the memecoin cycle cools, volume and value fade together. It faces direct competition from Orca and newer AMMs, and structural risk from its dependence on a single, sentiment-driven chain. Suited to traders comfortable holding a high-beta bet on Solana DeFi and on-chain speculation, RAY is best understood as leveraged exposure to Solana activity rather than a defensive holding.

1. 1. Choose an exchange. Pick a reputable exchange that lists RAY — among the venues we rate highest are Binance, OKX and Kraken.
2. 2. Create & verify your account. Register, enable two-factor authentication, and complete identity verification (KYC).
3. 3. Deposit funds. Add money by bank transfer, card, or a stablecoin, depending on what the exchange supports in your region.
4. 4. Buy RAY. Search for RAY, choose a market or limit order, enter your amount, and confirm.
5. 5. Secure your coins. For long-term holdings, withdraw RAY to a self-custody wallet you control rather than leaving it on the exchange.

Compare venues in our independent exchange ratings. This is not financial advice.