Wondering how to buy Radium? You can purchase RAY with fiat on Uphold.
As the cryptocurrency market burgeons with an influx of participation, proof of work blockchains are struggling to keep up with demand for lower-value applications. This is where Solana comes in with it's own unique solution and suite of applications.
Congestion on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, for example, has continued to plague users with slow transactions and outrageous gas fees. This problem leaves a door wide open for competitors in the space to pull market share from ETH — and that's exactly what’s happening.
As alternative blockchains develop platforms for decentralized applications (DApps), the original appeal of ETH quickly fades. Crypto projects like Solana (SOL) have made headlines recently with massive gains for investors as the “ETH killer” project makes strides in the industry.
And with projects like Raydium (RAY) developing on Solana, investors are quickly becoming aware of an ecosystem of synergistic projects interacting within the SOL network.
But what is Raydium, anyway? And what makes this altcoin so popular? Follow this guide to learn more about this exciting project, including how to buy RAY.
What is Raydium?
Billed as an avenue for the evolution of decentralized finance (DeFi), Raydium is best described as an automated market maker (AMM) and liquidity provider. Raydium is unique in that the company provides on-chain liquidity to a central order book. And that central order book belongs to Serum (SRM), a popular decentralized exchange (DEX) at the heart of the Solana ecosystem.
Essentially, connecting to Serum allows Raydium access to Serum’s order flow. And as a bonus, Raydium is granted access to the liquidity from all DApps similarly joined in the Serum ecosystem. Having access to these shared liquidity pools separates Raydium from larger competitors in the space, like Uniswap (UNI) and PancakeSwap (CAKE), who are forced to rely on liquidity pools built in-house.
But for traders using Raydium, what really matters is the light-speed swaps, enticing yield farms and opportunities for staking for interest offered through the trading platform. The DEX offers an array of yield farms, liquidity pools, and staking opportunities for your RAY tokens, but RAY is also used for governance of the protocol.
Brief History of Raydium
During the DeFi summer of 2020, the founder of Raydium, AlphaRay, saw the need for an orderbook based AMM. After Serum’s release on Solana, he ran with the concept, putting together an all-star team to create the ultimate DEX. The team behind Raydium has decades of combined experience in the space and have achieved a great deal since Raydium’s mainnet launch in February 2021.
Upon genesis, 555 million RAY tokens were created — 34% of these are to be released over 3 years as a liquidity mining incentive. Another 30% are set aside for partnerships and projects built around Raydium.
Having reached an all-time high near $15.88 in May 2021, investors in the DEX are waiting with anticipation as the market picks back up. Currently trading near $2.50, Raydium may be stuck until Solana returns to the spotlight.
Whether Raydium can recapture the highs it experienced earlier this year is yet to be seen. And trading any cryptocurrency carries great risk. If you’re still interested in buying RAY, the following guide will help you through the process.
How to Buy Raydium
The best way to get RAY is probably on the Radium DEX itself. But for traders preferring a more traditional platform, FTX Exchange, Gate.io and Binance are your best options.
- Open an online account.
Uphold is a centralized exchange where you can buy Raydium, remember that you’ll have to go through the know your customer (KYC) process. Make sure you have your documentation ready and be prepared to wait for your identity to be fully verified by the exchange.
If you plan on connecting your bank account for fiat deposits and withdrawals, you will again have to wait a few days for your bank to respond to the ACH request from the exchange.
With your username and password set, your identity verified and your bank connected, you’re almost ready to trade hundreds of cryptocurrencies. - Buy a cryptocurrency wallet (optional).
No matter where you purchase RAY, you’re going to want to secure your crypto off of the exchange to take full ownership of the altcoin. Whether you’re looking for cold storage or mobile connectivity, there are options to secure your crypto. Software wallets are free to use, but a hardware wallet offers the best security, as these devices store your cryptocurrency on a separate device.
- Make your purchase.
When you’ve located RAY under the base pair you would like to trade against, the Buy button will display prominently on screen. On Binance, FTX and Gate.io, you can set parameters for stop and limit orders or purchase RAY instantly at the current market price.
After choosing to move ahead with your purchase, the exchange may send a confirmation link to the email you used to register with the exchange. Click the link and you’re done! Just sit back while the transaction processes.
Cryptocurrency Wallets For Raydium
Best hardware wallet: Ledger
Ledger created the ultimate cold storage wallet. With a sleek device to store all your crypto, Ledger has the most respected hardware wallet on the market.
With state-of-the-art security, Ledger offers its customers true peace of mind. By storing your private keys on the device, they remain fully isolated from your computer or smartphone. Since hardware wallets store access to your cryptocurrency on a seperate device, there’s no way for hackers to steal your crypto via the internet.
Best software wallet: Phantom
To interact with the Raydium DEX, you’ll need a Solana Program Library (SPL) wallet. Phantom makes it easy to store, send, receive, stake and swap tokens on the Solana blockchain.
By unlocking a secure way to interact with DApps, Phantom turns your browser into a crypto wallet. A noncustodial wallet with a built in DEX, Phantom also offers Web3 support and staking of SOL.
Bonus:
Starting August 26, Raydium is hosting the sale of tokens from the Solana based Star-Atlas metaverse. These tokens are anticipated to usher in the next era of DeFi and gaming known as GameFi.
Trade, Sell or Convert your Raydium
When you’ve finally made it to the Raydium DEX, the options for your RAY are abundant. On the platform you can swap your RAY for any other token of the Solana SLP standard. You can stake your RAY for a terrific return. And with your cryptocurrency exchange account established, you can resell your crypto when market conditions are favorable.
With momentum building in the cryptocurrency market, however, you may just want to hold your RAY in your wallet. With the price of RAY cut in half over the past few months, the conditions may be right for an explosion upward in the near term.
Current Crypto Prices
With the cryptocurrency market testing $2.1 trillion, tokens on Solana’s blockchain have generally done well. SOL is up nearly 100% for the month, creating massive gains for traders who bought in during the lows that preceded the latest move.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are holding near $47,000 and $3,100, respectively, as altcoins continue to make headway against the largest 2 coins by market cap. “Ethereum killer” platforms such as Solana have been raising the entire market as institutional investors readjust their positions.
Is Raydium a Good Investment?
Ultimately, RAY’s price has been cut in half during the latest market route. But with participation pushing us back toward all-time highs, the expectation for Raydium to once again outperform the market has been growing. While some traders were burned by the drop in prices experienced after May 2021, the sentiment of most holders of the token seems to be geared toward a longer-term investment strategy.
As an AMM with access to shared liquidity and Serum’s central order book, Raydium is uniquely positioned in the DeFi space. Should new traders catch-on to the benefits offered by the platform, RAY could see terrific gains in short order.
Of course, as RAY operates on the Solana blockchain, so its price correlates somewhat to that of its host. For many traders, holding SOL may be a safer investment strategy.
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About Micah C. Miracle
Before writing for Benzinga, Micah’s work was featured on a number of ranking news sites, including The Merkle, Global Coin Report and the Crypto Gazette.