Orca

Orca is a user-friendly decentralized exchange on Solana known for its clean interface and concentrated liquidity pools (Whirlpools). It has consistently been one of the top DEXs by volume on Solana, attracting both retail traders and liquidity providers with its accessible design and efficient pool mechanics. Orca's Whirlpools are concentrated liquidity pools inspired by Uniswap V3, allowing liquidity providers to focus their capital within specific price ranges for dramatically higher capital efficiency compared to standard AMM pools. This means LPs can earn more fees with less capital, while traders benefit from deeper liquidity and lower slippage at active price ranges. The platform's swap interface is notably clean and simple — users select tokens, enter an amount, and Orca handles routing across its pools to find the best price. For those familiar with Uniswap's simplicity, Orca provides a similar experience on Solana with the added benefits of sub-second transaction finality and near-zero gas fees. Orca's ORCA governance token gives holders voting power over protocol parameters including fee structures, pool incentives, and development priorities. The protocol has also integrated with Jupiter as a major liquidity source, meaning much of Solana's aggregated swap volume flows through Orca's pools. For liquidity providers, Orca provides detailed analytics showing fee earnings, impermanent loss, and position performance.