Serum DEX was a revolutionary Solana-based exchange with zero fees and ultra-fast trades. After FTX collapsed, the community kept it alive. Here's how it works today - and whether it's still worth using in 2025.
Solana DEX: What They Are, How They Work, and Which Ones Still Matter
When you trade crypto on a Solana DEX, a decentralized exchange built on the Solana blockchain that lets users trade directly from their wallets without a central authority. Also known as a Solana-based DEX, it’s designed for speed and low fees—perfect for traders who hate waiting or paying $50 in gas to swap tokens. Unlike old-school exchanges, you don’t deposit your coins anywhere. You connect your wallet, pick a token, and trade. No KYC. No waiting. No middleman taking a cut behind the scenes.
Solana DEXs rely on something called automated market makers, smart contracts that set prices using math instead of order books. Also known as AMMs, they’re the engine behind every trade on these platforms. The most common ones use a formula like x*y=k to keep prices stable as people buy and sell. But Solana’s network is fast—transactions settle in under a second—and that’s why traders flocked here when Ethereum was clogged and expensive. You can swap tokens, add liquidity, or even farm rewards—all without leaving your wallet.
But not all Solana DEXs are created equal. Some, like Raydium, a top Solana DEX that combines AMM pools with order book liquidity from Serum. Also known as Raydium DEX, it’s one of the few that still draws real volume today. Others, like Bamboo Relay or Thruster v3, are either dead, niche, or built for a single ecosystem. You’ll find posts here about platforms that vanished, tokens with $0 volume, and fake airdrops pretending to be tied to Solana DEXs. That’s why this collection exists—to cut through the noise. We don’t just list DEXs. We show you which ones still move real money, which ones are just digital ghosts, and how to avoid scams that mimic real trading interfaces.
Some of the posts dive into how validator rewards work on Solana—because if you’re adding liquidity to a DEX, you’re indirectly helping secure the network. Others break down how token listings on these exchanges actually happen, and why most new tokens crash within hours. There’s even a guide on spotting fake Solana airdrops that trick people into signing malicious transactions. You’ll learn what to look for when a DEX says it’s "new" or "exclusive"—because most of the time, it’s not.
What you’ll find here isn’t theory. It’s what people actually did, what went wrong, and what still works in 2025. No fluff. No hype. Just the facts behind the trades, the tokens, and the platforms that still matter on Solana.