Crypto · The Breakdown · RAY
Solana’s Old Exchange.
Still Buying Itself Back.
The bull case for Raydium as the people who hold it actually make it, and the case against at the same weight, including the 2022 exploit and the day Pump.fun left.
Raydium is a decentralised exchange on Solana, launched in 2021 and one of the chain’s oldest. RAY is its token: Raydium spends 12 per cent of the trading fees it collects buying RAY on the open market. The maximum supply is 555 million, with about 269.7 million circulating on 21 September 2026.
Of Fees Buy Back RAY
Bought on the open market. Source: Cryptopolitan, 11 Sep 2026.
Maximum Supply
About 269.7 million circulating on 21 Sep 2026. Source: CoinGecko.
Bought Back In A Day
On 8 September 2026, the largest since Feb 2025. Source: Cryptopolitan.
Below The 2021 High
$16.83 on 12 Sep 2021, $1.71 on 21 Sep 2026. Source: CoinGecko.
The Bull Case, As Bulls Make It
Five arguments, stated at their strongest. This is the case the people who hold it make, not a forecast from this site.
The Fees Buy The Token
Raydium takes 12 per cent of all trading fees and spends it buying RAY on the open market. Bulls argue that ties the token directly to how much the exchange is used, which most exchange tokens never do. Source: Cryptopolitan.
It Has Survived Everything
Launched in 2021, it came through the collapse of FTX, whose Serum order book it was built around, and rebuilt without it. Few Solana projects from that year are still this central.
New Launchpads Route To It
On 5 September 2026 StonkFun began routing every new launch to Raydium’s LaunchLab, and in the week to 11 September StonkFun out earned Pump.fun. Bulls see the flow coming back. Source: Cryptopolitan.
A Fixed Supply
The maximum is 555 million. No new tokens beyond it, and the buyback removes some of what circulates. Source: CoinGecko.
Solana Trades On It
When activity on Solana rises, a large share of it passes through Raydium’s pools. Bulls treat RAY as a way to own the chain’s trading volume rather than any single token on it.
The Case Against, At The Same Weight
The other half. If you skip it you are reading an advertisement.
It Was Exploited
On 16 December 2022 an attacker compromised the owner authority on Raydium’s pools and withdrew funds. CoinDesk put the loss at about $2 million; The Block reported $4.4 million. Either way, the keys were the weak point.
Its Biggest Customer Left
In March 2025 Pump.fun launched PumpSwap and stopped sending graduated tokens to Raydium. The largest single source of new pools became a competitor overnight. Source: Cryptonomist, 21 March 2025.
The Buyback Depends On Volume
Twelve per cent of fees is only as large as the fees. In a quiet market the buyback shrinks with everything else, which is exactly when holders would want it most.
Five Years Below The High
It was about 89.8 per cent below the September 2021 high on 21 September 2026, and fell to $0.134391 in December 2022. Source: CoinGecko.
Memecoin Flow Is Borrowed Flow
Much of the recent volume comes from launchpads that choose where to route their tokens. What one launchpad sends, it can send somewhere else, as Pump.fun already showed.
What I Take From It
Not advice. How the argument reads to someone who builds businesses rather than trades tokens.
Concentration Is A Risk You Can See Coming
When one customer is the biggest source of your volume, the day they build their own is a matter of when, not if. Raydium lived through exactly that.
Tie The Reward To The Usage
A fixed share of fees buying the token is a simple, honest mechanism. Holders can check it against the volume, which is more than most tokens offer.
Security Is The Product
An exchange that loses funds loses the one thing it sells. The 2022 exploit was small in dollars and large in what it said about how the keys were held.
Prices, market caps, supplies, all time highs and all time lows from CoinGecko, read 3 September 2026. Solana issuance and burn figures from Solana Compass, SIMD-0550 from crypto.news, Alpenglow from Kiln, BSOL from CryptoBriefing. Sui architecture and history from Sygnum Bank, the Mysticeti v2 figures from the Sui blog, the unlock schedule from Tokenomist. Zcash halving schedule from CoinDataFlow, the shielded pool and the Ironwood upgrade from Phemex, the Orchard bug from KuCoin, the NU7 vote from CryptoSlate. Render tokenomics from the Render Network knowledge base, RNP-006 and RNP-018, and from RenderCon 2026 coverage. Jupiter protocol figures from DefiLlama, the net zero emissions vote from SolanaFloor, the Litterbox Trust and the 70% proposal from the Jupiter Research forum. Chain level TVL, stablecoin and fee figures from DefiLlama. A snapshot on one day, not a live feed, and not a price prediction.
The Positions I Actually Hold
This page is covered, not held. These are, and they get the same treatment: both cases at the same weight, every figure sourced and dated.
Solana · SOL
The bull case at its strongest.
Sui · SUI
The bull case at its strongest.
Zcash · ZEC
The bull case at its strongest.
Render · RENDER
The bull case at its strongest.
Jupiter · JUP
The bull case at its strongest.
Bitcoin · BTC
Twenty one million, the halving schedule to April 2028, and the five strongest arguments against it.
Common Questions
That 12 per cent of Raydium’s trading fees buys RAY on the open market; that it has survived since 2021, including the FTX collapse; that launchpads such as StonkFun now route new tokens to its LaunchLab; and that the supply is capped at 555 million.
Raydium takes 12 per cent of the trading fees it collects and spends it buying RAY on the open market. On 8 September 2026 it bought $640,788 in a single day. Source: Cryptopolitan.
Yes. On 16 December 2022 an attacker compromised the owner authority on its pools. CoinDesk reported about $2 million lost; The Block reported $4.4 million.
In March 2025 Pump.fun launched its own exchange, PumpSwap, and moved graduated tokens there instead of Raydium. Source: Cryptonomist.
No. Cody Wise is not a licensed advisor and does not hold RAY. This page sets out both sides of the argument with every figure sourced.
A Thesis You Cannot
Argue Against Is Not One.
Every position on this site is published with the reasoning and the counter argument attached. That is the whole standard.
Not financial advice.