The decentralized exchange Serum, built on the Solana blockchain, has announced a major milestone in its ecosystem development: a $100 million liquidity mining initiative launched on Thursday, October 28. This ambitious program, approved by Serum DAO, aims to significantly enhance liquidity across its chain-based Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) system and strengthen the overall DeFi infrastructure on Solana.
As one of the few DEXs offering a fully on-chain order book, Serum enables high-speed trading with minimal fees—making it ideal for both retail and high-frequency traders. By integrating with Automated Market Makers (AMMs), Serum allows pre-set limit orders while leveraging shared liquidity across Solana-based projects. This unique hybrid model addresses common fragmentation issues in decentralized exchanges and sets the stage for broader adoption.
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Strengthening the Foundation: Why Liquidity Matters
Liquidity is the lifeblood of any trading platform. For decentralized exchanges, insufficient liquidity often leads to slippage, poor price discovery, and limited user engagement. Serum’s CLOB architecture has already proven to be a key driver in attracting traders to the Solana ecosystem. With this new liquidity mining program, Serum DAO aims to incentivize AMM protocols to act as market makers on Serum’s order book, thereby deepening liquidity pools and improving trade execution.
The initial phase of the program will partner with Atrix Finance, one of Solana’s emerging AMM platforms. Three major trading pairs will be supported:
- BTC/USDC
- ETH/USDC
- SOL/USDC
These pairs represent some of the most traded assets in the crypto space, ensuring broad market participation and immediate utility for users.
Expanding Ecosystem Collaboration
While Atrix Finance is the first confirmed participant, other leading DeFi protocols on Solana have expressed strong interest in joining the initiative. Notably, Raydium and Mercurial Finance, two of the largest projects by Total Value Locked (TVL) on Serum, are evaluating integration opportunities. Their potential involvement could dramatically scale the impact of the liquidity mining rewards.
This collaborative approach reflects Serum DAO’s commitment to decentralized governance and community-driven growth. By aligning incentives across protocols, Serum fosters a more interconnected and resilient financial ecosystem where shared liquidity benefits all participants.
Matthew Graham, CEO of Sino Global Capital and an early supporter of Serum, emphasized the strategic importance of this move:
“Serum has already demonstrated that an on-chain order book is a critical foundation for Solana’s application boom. This liquidity mining boost will reduce trading friction, increase composability, and unlock new innovation—further attracting users and bringing the Serum and Solana ecosystems closer to the goal of one billion users.”
His statement underscores the long-term vision behind the initiative: not just short-term user acquisition, but sustainable infrastructure development that can support mass-market adoption.
Impressive Growth Metrics Signal Momentum
Serum’s momentum is reflected in its rapidly growing metrics. Currently ranked 11th among decentralized exchanges by Total Value Locked (TVL), Serum has seen a staggering 350% increase in TVL over the past three months. On October 14, its TVL peaked at $1.85 billion**, up from less than **$350 million on October 7—a tenfold surge in just over two weeks.
While still trailing giants like Uniswap and Curve, this explosive growth trajectory positions Serum as one of the fastest-rising players in the DeFi space. The $100 million treasury-backed liquidity program could serve as a catalyst to accelerate this growth even further.
Source: Defillama
Core Keywords Integration
To align with search intent and improve SEO performance, key terms have been naturally woven into the narrative:
- Serum DAO – Central governance body driving ecosystem decisions.
- Liquidity mining – The core mechanism used to reward contributors.
- Serum DEX – The decentralized exchange platform built on Solana.
- Solana ecosystem – The broader network benefiting from Serum’s infrastructure.
- CLOB (Central Limit Order Book) – Serum’s defining technical feature.
- AMM integration – Critical for enabling shared liquidity models.
- TVL growth – A key performance indicator showcasing adoption.
- Decentralized exchange – The broader category Serum operates within.
These keywords support discoverability without compromising readability or sounding forced.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is Serum’s Central Limit Order Book (CLOB)?
A: Serum’s CLOB is a fully on-chain order book that enables limit orders, stop-losses, and high-frequency trading directly on the blockchain. Unlike traditional AMMs that rely solely on algorithmic pricing, CLOB allows for precise price matching and deeper market depth.
Q: How does liquidity mining work on Serum?
A: Liquidity mining rewards participants—typically AMM protocols or individual liquidity providers—who supply assets to trading pairs on Serum’s order book. In return, they earn token incentives funded by the $100 million treasury allocation approved by Serum DAO.
Q: Which tokens are involved in the initial liquidity mining phase?
A: The first wave supports BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and SOL/USDC trading pairs. Rewards are expected to be distributed in native tokens of participating protocols, though specific details depend on each partner’s reward structure.
Q: Can any project join Serum’s liquidity mining program?
A: While initially rolling out with Atrix Finance, the program is designed to be open and permissionless over time. Projects interested in participating are encouraged to engage with Serum DAO through governance proposals.
Q: How does this benefit Solana DeFi users?
A: Increased liquidity means tighter spreads, lower slippage, faster trade execution, and better prices for traders. It also encourages more projects to build on top of Serum, expanding available services like lending, derivatives, and yield strategies.
Q: Is Serum safe to use?
A: Serum operates on Solana with audited smart contracts and a growing security track record. However, as with all DeFi platforms, users should conduct due diligence, understand impermanent loss risks, and use trusted wallets.
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Looking Ahead: Building Toward Mass Adoption
The $100 million liquidity mining initiative marks a pivotal moment for Serum DAO and the broader Solana ecosystem. By reinforcing its core infrastructure with sustainable incentives, Serum is laying the groundwork for next-generation financial applications—from advanced trading tools to cross-chain derivatives and institutional-grade market access.
As more protocols integrate and TVL continues to climb, Serum’s role as a foundational layer in Solana DeFi becomes increasingly clear. With strong community support, transparent governance, and proven technical advantages, Serum is well-positioned to play a central role in bringing decentralized finance to a global audience.
The journey toward one billion users may still be ambitious—but with initiatives like this, it’s beginning to feel within reach.