What are Solana's developer tools?

Developed by Solana Ventures, Anchor facilitates the creation of secure and scalable decentralized applications on Solana, providing a solid framework for developers to build innovative dApps.

Feb 15, 2025 at 07:18 pm

Key Points

• Anchor: A framework for building scalable and secure decentralized applications on Solana.
• Serum: A decentralized exchange designed for high-speed trading.
• Raydium: An automated market maker (AMM) that powers Serum.
• Orca: Another AMM that operates on Serum.
• Mango Markets: A decentralized lending and trading platform.
• Saber: A cross-chain stablecoin swap protocol.
• Solana Ventures: An investment fund focused on supporting the development of Solana-based projects.

Article

Anchor

Anchor is a framework for building scalable and secure decentralized applications (dApps) on Solana. It provides a set of tools and libraries that simplify the development process and ensure the security of dApps built on the platform. With Anchor, developers can easily create and deploy dApps that interact with Solana's blockchain, manage user accounts, and perform complex operations.

Key features of Anchor include:

• Rust-based: Anchor is built using Rust, a high-performance and memory-safe programming language. This provides developers with a secure and reliable foundation for building dApps.
• Easy to use: Anchor offers a simple and intuitive interface for developers to build and deploy dApps. The framework provides a set of pre-built components and contracts that streamline the development process.
• Scalable: Anchor is designed to support the development of highly scalable dApps. The framework utilizes Solana's high throughput and low latency to enable dApps that can handle millions of transactions per second.

Serum

Serum is a decentralized exchange (DEX) designed for high-speed trading on Solana. It leverages Solana's unique proof-of-history (PoH) consensus mechanism to provide a fast and efficient trading experience. The exchange is non-custodial, meaning that users maintain full control over their funds at all times.

Key features of Serum include:

• Cross-DEX trading: Serum aggregates liquidity from multiple decentralized exchanges, including Raydium and Orca, providing users with access to a wider range of trading pairs and better prices.
• Central limit order book (CLOB): Serum uses a CLOB to match buy and sell orders, ensuring fair and transparent pricing. The CLOB provides real-time visibility into the order book, giving traders a clear understanding of market depth and price movements.
• High throughput: Serum's PoH consensus enables the exchange to process up to 65,000 transactions per second, offering traders unparalleled speed and efficiency.

Raydium

Raydium is an automated market maker (AMM) that operates on Serum. It provides liquidity for serum's trading pairs, allowing users to trade assets quickly and efficiently. Raydium utilizes a constant product formula to determine the prices of assets, ensuring that there is always a market for any asset pair.

Key features of Raydium include:

• Decentralized: Raydium is completely decentralized, meaning that it is not controlled by any central authority. This ensures that users maintain full custody of their funds and have control over their trading activities.
• High capital efficiency: Raydium's AMM model provides high capital efficiency by attracting liquidity providers to deposit assets and earn trading fees. This liquidity enables traders to execute orders with minimal slippage and at optimal prices.
• Composability: Raydium can be integrated with other Solana-based projects, such as lending platforms and dApps, to create a more comprehensive and versatile ecosystem.

Orca

Orca is another AMM that operates on Serum. Similar to Raydium, it provides liquidity for Serum's trading pairs and facilitates fast and efficient trading. Orca uses a constant product formula to determine asset prices and offers a range of features to enhance the trading experience.

Key features of Orca include:

• User-friendly interface: Orca has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for both experienced and novice traders to execute trades. The interface provides clear visualizations of the order book, price charts, and trading history.
• Flexibility: Orca offers flexibility in terms of trading fees and liquidity provision. Users can choose to pay higher fees for faster trade execution or lower fees for slower execution. Liquidity providers can adjust their liquidity provision parameters to optimize returns.
• Cross-pool trading: Orca allows users to trade assets across different pools, providing access to a wider range of trading pairs and better pricing. This feature enhances capital efficiency and provides traders with more opportunities to find optimal prices.

Mango Markets

Mango Markets is a decentralized lending and trading platform that operates on Solana. It enables users to borrow, lend, and trade assets in a non-custodial manner. Mango Markets utilizes a unique risk management system to ensure the security and stability of the platform.

Key features of Mango Markets include:

• Cross-margin trading: Mango Markets allows users to use their assets as collateral to borrow other assets, creating leverage for trading activities. This feature enables traders to amplify their returns, but it also comes with increased risk.
• Perpetual futures: Mango Markets offers perpetual futures contracts, which allow traders to take positions on the future price of an asset without having to own the underlying asset. This provides traders with the ability to speculate on price movements and hedge their risks.
• Risk management: Mango Markets employs a robust risk management system that includes liquidation thresholds, margin calls,