Get answers to the most common questions about Orca and DeFi on Solana. Click on any question to expand and see the answer.
Orca is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Solana blockchain. It allows users to swap tokens, provide liquidity, and earn yield through various pools. Orca is known for its user-friendly interface and innovative features like Whirlpools (concentrated liquidity pools).
Orca differentiates itself through several key features:
Orca has established itself as one of the leading DEXs on Solana with a good security track record. However, all DeFi platforms carry inherent risks. The protocol has undergone multiple audits, but smart contract risks, market risks, and other DeFi-specific risks still exist. Users should always do their own research and only invest what they can afford to lose.
To start trading on Orca:
For a more detailed guide, see our Complete Swapping Guide.
Whirlpools are Orca's version of concentrated liquidity pools, similar to Uniswap v3. They allow liquidity providers to focus their capital within specific price ranges, potentially increasing capital efficiency and returns. For traders, Whirlpools can often offer better prices due to this concentration of liquidity.
Price Impact is how much your trade affects the price of the tokens in the pool. Larger trades in smaller pools cause higher price impact, potentially giving you less favorable rates.
Slippage is the difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual executed price. Slippage occurs due to market volatility between the time you submit a transaction and when it's confirmed on the blockchain.
When setting slippage tolerance, you're telling the system how much price movement you're willing to accept. If the price moves more than your tolerance, the transaction will fail rather than executing at an unfavorable price.
Transactions can fail for several reasons:
Try increasing your slippage tolerance slightly during volatile markets, ensure you have sufficient SOL, and check that your wallet is properly connected.
Orca's smart router automatically tries to find the best path for your trade, which may involve routing through multiple pools. However, you can also manually select between standard pools and Whirlpools.
For most users, letting the smart router handle this decision is recommended. If you're making a large trade, you might want to compare rates manually between different pool options.
Orca supports most Solana-compatible wallets, including:
Phantom and Solflare are the most commonly used and offer the best experience for most users.
No, Orca Insights Blog is an independent publication that covers the Orca ecosystem. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Orca Exchange in any way. Our goal is to provide educational content, news, and insights about Orca and the broader Solana DeFi ecosystem from an independent perspective.
We welcome contributions from community members! If you have expertise in Orca, Solana, or DeFi in general and would like to contribute articles, analysis, or other content, please contact our editorial team at support@orcainsights.com with your proposal or ideas.
