Serum (SRM) was officially released in 2020 under the initiative of the team responsible for FTX Exchange and the Solana Foundation to solve existing weaknesses in decentralized exchanges. It is a high-performance decentralized exchange and ecosystem built on the Solana blockchain. Typical DEXs face their bottlenecks in high latency, non-scalability, and highly expensive transactions. Serum tries to overcome these challenges in favor of Solana’s highly performant blockchain platform. The creation of Serum aimed to get rid of all the inefficiencies in the DeFi space by allowing lightning-fast transactions, low fees, and a fully on-chain order book that improves liquidity and trading experiences. SRM powers the Serum ecosystem. It is used inside the Serum ecosystem for governance, staking, and reduction in various transaction fees, creating an efficient and costless environment for the users.
Serum, the brainchild of Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, in conjunction with the Solana Foundation. This was a DEX designed to outcompete and outperform even centralized exchanges in terms of speed and efficiency but without losing the core decentralization ethos. Aggregating liquidity, Serum has become the cornerstone of the Solana ecosystem, underpinning many DeFi protocols and applications.
Serum’s infrastructure utilizes Solana’s high-performance blockchain to deliver unparalleled speed and scalability, including an on-chain order book. While most AMMs are using the traditional model, Serum introduces a fully on-chain central limit order book (CLOB) to offer users better price discovery and liquidity.
Serum allows smooth interaction among different dApps and blockchains, thus contributing to a more connected DeFi ecosystem. SRM is central in the ecosystem, providing a reduction in trading fees and governance participation. Serum allows the efficient trading of assets on its ecosystem from a wide array of blockchains. With the infrastructure support provided by Solana, Serum achieves transaction speeds as high as 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) with near-zero fees.
Serum provides the highest speeds and lowest transaction fees for any trader, high-frequency or otherwise. On Serum, anyone can build dApps and DeFi projects, allowing innovation to thrive in a truly decentralized ecosystem. Serum features complex order types and advanced trading functionality, rivaling even the most prominent centralized exchanges. Serum is the foundational layer for many Solana-based DeFi protocols, allowing for shared liquidity and resources across applications.
Serum has established a wide network of collaborations to grow its ecosystem and expand its potential. Serum is deeply integrated with FTX and Solana, ensuring continuous technological innovation and the growth of its ecosystem. This has made Serum one of the most essential parts of the Solana DeFi infrastructure.
Serum works in collaboration with Raydium, one of the leading AMMs on Solana, in order to pool liquidity for efficient swapping of tokens. This synergy also allows Serum to enhance the order book liquidity for the benefit of users through smooth trading experiences. By incorporating Chainlink’s decentralized oracles, Serum secures highly accurate price feeds internally, critical in fostering reliability and complete transparency in its entire trading ecosystem.
Serum works with Mango Markets to introduce more advanced trading tools and margin trading capabilities, drawing sophisticated traders and institutional participants into the fold. The partnerships with Wormhole and other cross-chain platforms enable Serum to support the transfer of assets across Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and more, cultivating a highly interoperable DeFi ecosystem.
Serum keeps innovating and enlarging its influence in the DeFi space. Serum actively supports a growing number of projects in the Solana ecosystem. By powering dApps and enabling shared liquidity, it cements its position as foundational infrastructure for DeFi.
Recent updates have introduced advanced order types and expanded trading functionality, turning Serum into a real competitor for centralized exchanges. Robust cross-chain bridges of Serum enabled seamless asset transfers and allowed the users to trade assets from multiple blockchains within the Serum’s ecosystem, making it even more useful and widespread. SRM token holders are at the core of Serum’s governance, actively participating in decisions about protocol upgrades and ecosystem developments, ensuring a decentralized and community-focused approach.
Serum’s liquidity infrastructure is now integrated with numerous Solana-based DeFi protocols, driving exponential growth in user activity and ecosystem adoption, with notable integrations including lending platforms, yield optimizers, and NFT marketplaces. These partnerships and developments further indicate that Serum is committed to high-speed, low-cost trading solutions and innovation for growth in the decentralized finance sector.
SRM, Serum’s token, is trading for $0.36 as of December 19, 2024. The token’s market capitalization stands at $360 million, positioning Serum as a leading DeFi protocol within the Solana ecosystem. Increased ecosystem adoption, advanced trading features, and cross-chain integrations drive SRM’s utility and value. Factors affecting price movements include DeFi growth, as Serum’s place in the Solana DeFi ecosystem attracts more users and liquidity. Cross-chain innovations, such as bridges to other blockchains, increase the interoperability and utility of Serum. The high-speed order book attracts institutional and retail traders, increasing demand for SRM. Ecosystem development, with new projects and partnerships, continuously develops Serum’s adoption and usage.
Serum is redefining decentralized trading by combining speed, efficiency, and innovation. Built on Solana’s high-performance blockchain, Serum offers unmatched trading experiences with its on-chain order book and advanced tools. Backed by strong partnerships, continuous developments, and an ever-growing ecosystem, Serum is well-positioned to become a key player in the evolution of DeFi.
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FAQs
Q1. What is Serum used for?
- A: Serum powers a decentralized exchange and ecosystem, offering high-speed trading, advanced tools, and cross-chain asset interoperability.
Q2. What makes Serum unique?
- A: Serum’s on-chain order book provides better price discovery and liquidity compared to traditional AMM models.
Q3. How does Serum achieve scalability?
- A: Built on Solana, Serum achieves scalability through Solana’s high throughput of up to 65,000 TPS and low transaction costs.
Q4. What is SRM used for?
- A: SRM is used for transaction fee reductions, governance participation, and staking within the Serum ecosystem.