Serum Protocol: Solana Ecosystem's Decentralized Order Book
Serum is a DEX protocol and ecosystem built on the Solana blockchain. Its core goal is to bring the speed and low transaction costs of centralized exchanges (CEXs) to the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Unlike common automated market maker (AMM) models, Serum uses an on-chain Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) model, which allows it to provide an order matching mechanism similar to traditional financial markets, enabling users to specify trading prices and order sizes.
Leveraging Solana's high throughput and extremely low transaction fees (typically around $0.00001 to $0.00002), Serum achieves sub-second transaction confirmation speeds. Additionally, Serum supports cross-chain transactions, particularly interoperability with Ethereum, aiming to facilitate the circulation of assets between different blockchains.
FTX Collapse and the Birth of Openbook
The Serum protocol was launched by the Serum Foundation in August 2020, with deep involvement and support from FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Alameda Research in its early stages. It was once a core DeFi infrastructure in the Solana ecosystem, with many protocols (such as Raydium, Atrix, Mango Markets) built on top of Serum or utilizing its order book.
However, in November 2022, the collapse of the FTX exchange dealt a devastating blow to the Serum protocol. As the upgrade authority for the original Serum protocol was controlled by FTX, its security faced immense risks and it was ultimately declared "defunct" by the community. To ensure the continued existence of CLOB DEX functionality in the Solana ecosystem, the Solana community quickly took action, performing a hard fork of the Serum v3 protocol on November 14, 2022, creating Openbook. Openbook aims to be a community-led alternative to Serum, retaining Serum's code, order model, and user interface, and is no longer associated with FTX and Alameda Research, demonstrating the resilience of community-driven decentralized solutions.
SRM Token Status
SRM is the native token of the original Serum protocol, initially designed for paying transaction fee discounts (up to 50%-60%) and participating in governance. However, with the obsolescence of the original Serum protocol, the utility and activity of the SRM token have also been severely impacted.
- Current Price: As of August 13, 2026, the SRM token price is approximately $0.0073 to $0.0074.
- Market Cap: As of August 13, 2026, SRM's market cap is approximately $2.74 million to $2.76 million.
- Circulating Supply: As of August 13, 2026, SRM's circulating supply is approximately 370 million to 372.78 million tokens.
- Historical Price: SRM's all-time high price reached $13.78, and its all-time low price was approximately $0.000167.
- Trading Activity: As of August 13, 2026, SRM's 24-hour trading volume is approximately $1.17K to $2.27K. Given its extremely low daily trading volume, the SRM token no longer has an active trading market, liquidity has dried up, and there is extremely high trading risk.
Trading on Openbook
Since the original Serum protocol is defunct, the primary platform for similar order book trading on Solana is now its community fork, Openbook. Openbook, as a DEX, allows users to trade directly through their non-custodial wallets. The usual trading steps are as follows:
- Connect Solana Wallet: Users need a Solana-compatible non-custodial wallet, such as Phantom or Solflare. On Openbook's official interface, select "Connect Wallet" and authorize the connection.
- Deposit Assets: Ensure your Solana wallet has enough SOL tokens for transaction fees and the SPL tokens (Solana Program Library tokens) you wish to trade.
- Select Trading Pair: On Openbook's trading interface, select the cryptocurrency pair you want to trade, such as SOL/USDC, USDT/USDC, etc.
- View Order Book: The order book displays real-time buy (bid) and sell (ask) orders, as well as market depth, to help you understand market conditions.
- Place Order:
- Limit Order: You can specify the price and quantity you wish to buy or sell. Your order will enter the order book, awaiting matching with other users' orders.
- Market Order: You can choose to buy or sell a specified quantity of assets immediately at the current best market price. Market orders are executed instantly but may face slippage risk.
- Confirm Transaction: Your Solana wallet will pop up a transaction confirmation request. Carefully review the transaction details, including fees, then approve the transaction.
- Transaction Complete: Once your order is matched and executed, assets will be transferred directly between your wallets.
Please note that cryptocurrency trading involves inherent risks, especially for tokens with low liquidity or emerging platforms. Before engaging in any trading, always fully understand the associated risks and conduct your own due diligence.
