What is Raydium Swap?
Raydium Swap is an Automated Market Maker (AMM) built on the Solana blockchain that enables instant on-chain token swaps and provides liquidity to Serum order books. It offers fast execution, low fees and deep liquidity by combining AMM pools with central limit order book (CLOB) liquidity from Serum.
How Raydium Swap Works (Short)
- AMM pools: Users deposit paired tokens into liquidity pools to earn trading fees and receive LP (liquidity provider) tokens.
- Swaps: Traders swap tokens against those pools. Prices are determined algorithmically based on pool balances.
- Serum integration: Raydium routes some liquidity to Serum’s order book, increasing depth and reducing price impact for large trades.
Step-by-step: How to Perform a Swap
- Connect a Solana-compatible wallet (Phantom, Solflare, or other).
- Choose the tokens you want to swap and enter the amount.
- Review estimated output, expected slippage, and fees.
- Adjust slippage tolerance in settings if needed (higher for low-liquidity pairs).
- Approve the transaction in your wallet and wait for confirmation on Solana (generally seconds).
Fees & Slippage
Raydium charges a small protocol fee and pool fee (the exact breakdown can vary by pool). Slippage is the difference between expected and executed price — it grows with trade size relative to pool liquidity. Always check the price impact indicator before confirming.
Providing Liquidity: Basics
To provide liquidity, deposit both tokens of a pair in equal value. You’ll receive LP tokens representing your pool share. LP holders earn a portion of trading fees; rewards may also be available through yield farming programs. Remember impermanent loss — the divergence of returns compared to simply holding tokens — when adding liquidity.
Security & Best Practices
- Only interact with the official Raydium UI or trusted integrations.
- Verify smart contract addresses from official channels before approving transactions.
- Keep wallet seed phrases private and never paste them into websites.
- Use a hardware wallet for larger balances when possible.
Common Troubleshooting
- Transaction failing: Increase fee priority or check Solana network status.
- High slippage: Raise slippage tolerance only if you accept the price; otherwise reduce trade size.
- Unable to connect wallet: Ensure wallet extension is unlocked and on the Solana network.
Conclusion
Raydium Swap is a powerful, low-cost AMM on Solana that combines pool-based liquidity with Serum’s order book depth. Whether swapping tokens as a trader or providing liquidity as an LP, understanding fees, slippage, and security basics will help you use Raydium confidently and safely.