Solana is a Layer 1 blockchain platform which uses a proof-of-stake mechanism to provide smart contract functionality. Its native cryptocurrency is SOL.

Solana was launched in 2020 by Solana Labs, which was founded by Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal in 2018. The blockchain has experienced several major outages, was subjected to a hack, and a class action lawsuit was filed against the platform.

Solana's total market cap was US$55 billion in January 2022. However, by the end of 2022, this had fallen to around $3 billion following the bankruptcy of FTX. Following the general rise of the cryptocurrency market in 2023, its market cap rose to $7 billion.

Source:Wikipedia

Raydium is an automated market maker (AMM) built on the Solana blockchain which leverages a central limit order book to enable lightning-fast trades, shared liquidity and new features for earning yield.

Why is Raydium different?

Other AMM DEXs and DeFi protocols are only able to access liquidity within their own pools and have no access to a central order book. Additionally, many platforms run on other blockchains, such as Ethereum, where transactions are slower and gas fees are higher.

Raydium offers a few key advantages:

1. Faster and cheaper: Raydium leverages the efficiency of the Solana blockchain to achieve transactions magnitudes faster than Ethereum and gas fees which are a fraction of the cost.

2. A central order book for ecosystem-wide liquidity: Raydium provides on-chain liquidity to a central limit order book, meaning that Raydium allows access to 3rd party order flow and liquidity on the order book.

3. Trading interface: For traders who want to be able to view TradingView charts, set limit orders and have more control over their trading.

Source: Raydium docs