Serum DEX Crypto Exchange Review: Speed, Fees, and What Happened After FTX Collapsed
Apr, 4 2025
Serum DEX Fee Calculator
Calculate your potential savings using Serum DEX compared to Ethereum-based DEXes. Serum charges only the Solana network fee ($0.00025 per transaction), while Ethereum fees can exceed $0.50 per transaction during network congestion.
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When you think of decentralized exchanges, you probably imagine Uniswap - slow, expensive, and clunky during market spikes. But Serum DEX was different. Built on Solana, it promised the speed of Binance with the control of a non-custodial wallet. In 2021, traders flocked to it. Orders executed in milliseconds. Fees were pennies. Liquidity was deep. It felt like the future of crypto trading.
Then FTX collapsed in November 2022. And Serum, as everyone knew it, stopped working.
Here’s the truth: Serum wasn’t just another DEX. It was a technical marvel - and a cautionary tale. If you’re still trading on it today, you’re using a community-built version of the original. And it still works. But you need to know what changed, what stayed the same, and whether it’s worth your time in 2025.
How Serum DEX Actually Works (It’s Not Like Uniswap)
Most decentralized exchanges use something called an Automated Market Maker (AMM). That’s Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and others. They rely on liquidity pools - users lock up tokens, and the algorithm sets prices based on supply and demand. Simple, but inefficient for fast trades. Slippage spikes during volatility. Fees get ugly.
Serum didn’t do that. It used a real order book - the same system central exchanges like Binance and Coinbase use. Buyers and sellers place limit orders. The system matches them directly. No slippage from pool imbalances. No surprise price jumps. You see the exact price you’ll get before you click.
This wasn’t just a UI tweak. It was a full architectural rewrite. Serum ran on Solana, which handles up to 65,000 transactions per second. Compare that to Ethereum’s 15 TPS. Serum could process trades faster than your screen refreshes. That’s why professional traders loved it. During SOL pumps in 2021, Serum stayed smooth. Other DEXes froze.
The Fees? Almost Zero
Serum didn’t charge trading fees. Period. No maker-taker model. No hidden spreads. No percentage cut on every trade.
You only paid Solana’s network fee - about $0.00025 per transaction in early 2025. That’s 1/400th of a cent. Even if you made 100 trades in a day, your total fee would be less than a nickel. On Ethereum, that same activity could cost $50+.
And it wasn’t just trading. Deposits, withdrawals, and token swaps had no extra charges. You paid only what Solana charged - and Solana is cheap. Even during network congestion, fees stayed under $0.01. That’s why Serum’s average user traded 3x more than on other DEXes.
What Happened When FTX Crashed
Here’s the dark secret: Serum wasn’t fully decentralized. FTX, led by Sam Bankman-Fried, held the upgrade key. That meant FTX could pause trading, change rules, or even freeze funds - without community approval.
When FTX collapsed in November 2022, Serum stopped working. The website went dark. Wallets couldn’t connect. Traders panicked. Thousands thought their SRM and SOL tokens were gone forever.
But the community didn’t give up. Within weeks, developers forked Serum’s code. They removed FTX’s control. They rebuilt the frontend. They kept the order book. They kept the speed. And they kept the fees at zero.
Today, you’re not using the original Serum. You’re using Serum v2 - the community fork. It’s live. It’s functional. But the trust is broken. And that’s the biggest risk now.
What’s Still Good About Serum in 2025
Even after the collapse, Serum’s core tech hasn’t aged. Here’s why it still matters:
- Speed: Still 50,000+ TPS. Faster than any Ethereum-based DEX. Even faster than most centralized exchanges.
- Fees: Still $0.00025 per trade. No other DEX comes close.
- Liquidity: Integrated with Raydium, which feeds its order book with pooled liquidity. You get both precision and depth.
- Interoperability: You can trade wrapped Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Chainlink directly on Serum. No need to go through a centralized bridge.
- Tokenomics: 68% of all trading fees (yes, even the tiny Solana fees) go toward buying and burning SRM. That means scarcity increases over time.
As of February 2025, Serum processes $180 million in daily volume. It’s the 8th largest DEX globally. Not huge, but it’s holding steady. And it’s still the only DEX that combines real order books with Solana’s speed.
Where Serum Falls Short Today
It’s not all perfect. Here’s where it stumbles:
- No customer support: If something breaks, you’re on your own. No email. No chat. No ticket system. You rely on Discord, GitHub, or YouTube tutorials.
- Steeper learning curve: You need a Solana wallet - Phantom, Solflare, or Trust Wallet. Setting it up takes 20-40 minutes for beginners. Most users report a 2-4 hour learning curve before they’re comfortable.
- Solana dependency: If Solana goes down, Serum goes down. In September 2021, Solana had a 17-hour outage. Serum was offline. No trades. No access. That’s a single point of failure in a decentralized system.
- Not multi-chain: Unlike 1inch or Matcha, Serum doesn’t pull liquidity from Ethereum, Arbitrum, or Polygon. You’re locked into Solana’s ecosystem unless you wrap assets.
- Governance is still messy: The community fork runs without clear leadership. No DAO. No voting. No roadmap enforced by token holders. Updates happen when devs decide to push them.
Who Should Use Serum DEX?
Serum isn’t for everyone. It’s built for a specific type of trader:
- Intermediate to advanced crypto traders: You know what an order book is. You’ve used Binance or Kraken before.
- High-frequency traders: You make dozens of trades a day. Speed and fees matter more than convenience.
- Solana ecosystem users: You hold SOL, SRM, or Solana-based tokens like RAY, JUP, or WIF. You want to trade them without leaving the chain.
- DeFi builders: You’re integrating Serum’s order book into your own app or bot. The API is clean and reliable.
If you’re new to crypto? Skip it. Use Coinbase or Kraken first. Learn the basics. Come back to Serum when you’re ready for speed and control.
The Future: Can Serum Survive?
Analysts at Delphi Digital give Serum a 65% chance of surviving the next three years. Why not 100%? Two reasons:
- Governance: Without a DAO or voting system, the project is vulnerable. One developer could make a bad change. Or disappear. No accountability.
- Competition: New order book DEXes like Hyperliquid and Drift Protocol are launching on Solana. They’re faster, cleaner, and built with decentralized governance from day one.
But Serum has one advantage: it’s already proven. It’s been battle-tested. It’s got 38,500 active members on Discord. It’s got a 4.2/5 rating on Cryptowisser. And it’s still the only DEX that delivers real-time order book trading at near-zero cost.
The January 2025 update - direct Ethereum-to-Serum bridging without FTX - was a big step. It fixed the biggest weakness. Now, if Serum can build a real governance model, it could become the standard for high-speed DEXes.
For now, it’s a relic that still works. A ghost of DeFi’s peak. And if you’re ready to trade like a pro, without paying a fortune - it’s still the best option on Solana.
Is Serum DEX still operational after the FTX collapse?
Yes, but not the original version. After FTX collapsed in November 2022, the community forked Serum’s code and rebuilt it without FTX’s control. The current version, often called Serum v2, is fully operational and live on Solana. You can trade, deposit, and withdraw using wallets like Phantom or Solflare.
Does Serum charge trading fees?
No, Serum does not charge any trading, deposit, or withdrawal fees. You only pay the Solana network fee, which averages $0.00025 per transaction as of early 2025. This is significantly lower than fees on Ethereum-based DEXes or centralized exchanges.
Can I trade Bitcoin or Ethereum on Serum?
Yes, but not natively. You trade wrapped versions of Bitcoin (wBTC) and Ethereum (wETH) on Serum. These are tokenized versions created by locking the original assets on their native chains. Since January 2025, you can bridge assets directly from Ethereum to Serum without using FTX as an intermediary, thanks to a major protocol update.
Is Serum safer than centralized exchanges?
It’s safer in one way: you hold your own keys. There’s no central company that can freeze your funds. But it’s riskier in another: if Solana goes down, you can’t trade. And before the fork, FTX controlled the protocol - a centralized flaw that caused massive disruption. Today’s version is more decentralized, but governance is still informal.
Do I need to know how to use a crypto wallet to trade on Serum?
Yes. You need a Solana-compatible wallet like Phantom, Solflare, or Trust Wallet. Setting it up takes 20-40 minutes for beginners. Serum offers a built-in wallet creation tool, but many users report confusion with transaction confirmations and token visibility. There’s no customer support - you rely on Discord, YouTube tutorials, or GitHub guides.
What’s the difference between Serum and Uniswap?
Serum uses a real order book like Binance - you see bids and asks, and trades match directly. Uniswap uses liquidity pools and automated pricing, which causes slippage and higher fees during volatility. Serum is 3,000-65,000 times faster and costs 100x less per trade. But Uniswap works on Ethereum and supports more tokens out of the box. Serum is faster and cheaper, but locked to Solana’s ecosystem.
Is SRM still valuable?
SRM is the governance token of Serum. It’s no longer used for fee discounts (those were removed after the FTX collapse), but 68% of all trading fees (Solana network fees) are still used to buy and burn SRM. This reduces supply over time, potentially increasing scarcity. SRM is still traded on exchanges and held by long-term users who believe in Serum’s future.
Can I use Serum on mobile?
You can access Serum through mobile browsers using wallets like Phantom or Trust Wallet. But the interface isn’t optimized for phones - it’s designed for desktop trading. A mobile app is on the roadmap for 2026, but as of early 2025, it’s not available. For mobile trading, consider Raydium or Jupiter, which have better mobile support.
If you’re looking for speed, low fees, and direct control over your trades on Solana, Serum DEX still delivers. But you’re trading on a platform that survived a corporate collapse - and still hasn’t fully fixed its trust issues. It’s not for beginners. It’s not for the faint of heart. But for those who know what they’re doing, it’s one of the few places where decentralized trading actually feels like the future.
Linda English
November 22, 2025 AT 09:30Serum’s persistence after FTX is honestly one of the most underrated stories in DeFi… I remember watching the whole thing unfold-how the community just… kept going. No CEO. No PR team. No funding round. Just devs with GitHub accounts and a shared belief that order books shouldn’t die because of a fraudster’s bankruptcy. The fact that it still runs at 50K TPS with $0.00025 fees? That’s not luck. That’s engineering integrity. And yeah, the governance is a mess-but isn’t that the whole point of decentralization? We’re supposed to build systems that don’t need heroes, just protocols. I’ve used Serum daily since 2023, and I’ve never once felt like I was trading on a corpse. It’s alive. Quietly. Efficiently. And honestly? More honest than half the “decentralized” projects with VC logos on their whitepapers.
asher malik
November 22, 2025 AT 17:20Julissa Patino
November 23, 2025 AT 04:08Daryl Chew
November 23, 2025 AT 17:18You think this is just about code? No. FTX didn’t just ‘collapse’-they *controlled* Serum’s keys. That’s not a bug. That’s a backdoor. And now? The community fork? It’s a placebo. They’re still feeding you the same poison. They just changed the label. You think they didn’t keep a backdoor? You think the devs who rebuilt it aren’t on the same payroll? The $0.00025 fee? That’s a trap. It lures you in. Then when Solana goes down for 17 hours again-like it did in 2021-you’re locked out. No refunds. No emails. No one to blame. Just silence. And that’s not decentralization. That’s controlled collapse. They’re letting you think you’re free while they own the infrastructure. Wake up.
Tyler Boyle
November 24, 2025 AT 02:34Julissa is right that Jupiter is better for beginners-but that’s not the point. Serum’s value isn’t in the UI, it’s in the architecture. The order book model on Solana is still the only one that can handle microsecond latency with zero maker-taker fees. Jupiter aggregates liquidity, sure-but it’s still an AMM underneath. Serum is the only DEX that lets you place a limit order at 0.0000001 SOL above the bid and have it execute before the blockchain confirms the last block. That’s not a feature-it’s a paradigm shift. And yes, the governance is a mess. But that’s because no one’s been able to replicate the original incentive structure. SRM burning? That’s the only deflationary mechanism left in DeFi that actually works without tokenomics theater. The fact that it’s still processing $180M/day without a single VC or marketing budget? That’s proof of organic demand. If you’re not trading on Serum because it’s ‘too hard,’ you’re not ready for real DeFi. You’re ready for a crypto ATM with a mobile app. And that’s fine. But don’t pretend Serum is obsolete because it doesn’t hold your hand. It’s not supposed to.