Serum DEX Crypto Exchange Review: Speed, Fees, and What Happened After FTX Collapsed

When you think of a decentralized exchange, you probably picture Uniswap - slow, expensive, and clunky during crypto surges. But Serum DEX was built to fix that. Launched in 2020 on the Solana blockchain, it promised something radical: Serum DEX offered the trading speed of Binance with the self-custody of a true DEX. No middlemen. No delays. Just instant trades, near-zero fees, and an order book that actually worked. For a while, it felt like the future of crypto trading.

How Serum DEX Actually Works

Most decentralized exchanges use something called an Automated Market Maker (AMM), like Uniswap or PancakeSwap. That means prices are set by algorithms based on pool ratios. It’s simple, but it causes slippage - especially on big trades. Serum threw that out. Instead, it used a traditional order book, just like what you’d find on Coinbase or Binance. Buy orders and sell orders lined up in real time. If you wanted to buy 100 SOL at $120, you could see exactly who was selling at that price and match instantly.

This wasn’t just a gimmick. It made Serum incredibly efficient. While Ethereum-based DEXes struggled with 1-15 transactions per second, Serum ran on Solana and handled 50,000 to 65,000 per second. That’s not a little faster - it’s thousands of times faster. Trades settled in under a second. Slippage was rare. And because Solana’s network fees are tiny, each trade cost about $0.00025, even during peak usage.

Serum also let you trade wrapped versions of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Chainlink directly on its platform. You didn’t need to switch chains. You just connected your Solana wallet, deposited your wrapped assets, and started trading. It was a one-stop shop for Solana-based DeFi.

The SRM Token and Fee Structure

Serum didn’t charge trading fees at all. No maker-taker fees. No withdrawal fees. No deposit fees. The only cost was the Solana network fee - basically a penny. But it did have a native token: SRM. This wasn’t just a governance token. It was built into the economics of the whole system.

Here’s how it worked: 68% of all fees collected from the network (mostly from cross-chain bridging and other services) went into a buy-and-burn mechanism. That means SRM tokens were constantly being bought back and destroyed. Less supply. More scarcity. It was a clever way to create long-term value for holders.

There was also MSRM, a rare token capped at 1,000 units. Only MSRM holders could run validator nodes on the network. It was meant to ensure security and decentralization. But here’s the catch - neither token gave users direct control over the platform’s code.

The FTX Collapse and What Broke

Serum’s biggest flaw wasn’t technical. It was governance.

The team behind Serum was closely tied to FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried’s company held the upgrade authority. That meant FTX could change the rules, freeze assets, or even shut down the protocol with a single command. It was supposed to be decentralized - but it had one centralized switch.

When FTX collapsed in November 2022, Serum went dark. Users couldn’t trade. Withdrawals stopped. Wallets froze. People panicked. Many thought their tokens were gone forever. The community didn’t just sit around - they forked the protocol. A group of developers took the last working version of Serum’s code and launched a new version, free from FTX’s control. It’s still running today.

But trust was broken. You can’t claim to be decentralized if one company holds the keys. That incident became a case study in DeFi: true decentralization isn’t about the blockchain - it’s about who controls the upgrades.

Current State: Is Serum Still Alive?

Yes, but it’s not the same.

As of early 2026, the community-run version of Serum is active. Daily trading volume sits around $180 million - down from its peak of $1.2 billion in 2021. It’s now the 8th largest DEX globally. The interface is still fast. Fees are still near zero. And it’s still the only DEX that combines a real order book with Solana’s speed.

In January 2025, they added a major upgrade: direct cross-chain bridging from Ethereum without needing FTX. That fixed one of the biggest post-collapse problems. Now, users can bring ETH or USDC directly into Serum using secure, permissionless bridges.

The team behind the fork is also working on a decentralized governance council. If it launches, it could restore some of the lost credibility. But right now, decisions still rely on core developers - not a voting system.

How Serum Compares to Other DEXes

Serum vs. Top DEXes: Speed, Fees, and Features

Feature	Serum DEX	Uniswap v3 (Ethereum)	PancakeSwap (BNB Chain)	1inch (Aggregator)
Transaction Speed	50,000-65,000 TPS	1-15 TPS	10,000 TPS	Varies by source
Trading Fees	$0 (only Solana network fee)	$1-$10+ per trade	0.25% per trade	0.1%-0.5% (depends on route)
Order Book	Yes	No (AMM)	No (AMM)	No (aggregates AMMs)
Supported Chains	Solana + wrapped assets	Ethereum	BNB Chain	15+ blockchains
Decentralization	Post-FTX fork (improving)	High (no central authority)	High	High

Serum wins on speed and cost. If you’re a day trader or someone who needs precise fills, nothing else comes close. But if you want broad token access or strong governance, Uniswap or 1inch are safer bets.

Who Should Use Serum DEX?

Serum isn’t for beginners. Setting up a Phantom wallet, understanding SOL fees, and navigating the interface takes time. One user on Trustpilot spent three hours just getting started.

But if you’re already familiar with Solana - or you’re tired of paying $5 in Ethereum gas fees just to swap tokens - Serum is a game-changer. It’s ideal for:

• Traders who need low slippage and fast execution
• Users who hold SOL, SRM, or Solana-based tokens (like JUP, BONK, or WSOL)
• People who want professional-grade order book trading without KYC
• Those who believe in Solana’s long-term potential

If you’re looking for a wide range of Ethereum tokens, or you want a simple, one-click experience - stick with Uniswap or a centralized exchange.

Problems and Limitations

Serum has two big risks:

First, it’s tied to Solana. In September 2021, Solana went down for 17 hours. All trading on Serum stopped. No backups. No fallback. That’s a single point of failure.

Second, governance is still shaky. The fork is running, but there’s no clear voting system. No DAO. No treasury. Just a small group of devs making decisions. Until that changes, Serum remains vulnerable.

There’s also limited support. No live chat. No email help. You’re on your own. The community Discord has 38,500 members, and the GitHub wiki has 217 troubleshooting guides - but you’ll need to dig to find answers.

What’s Next for Serum?

The roadmap for 2025-2026 includes:

• Decentralized governance council (in development)
• Mobile app redesign for easier access
• Integration with Solana’s new compression tech to cut fees even further
• More cross-chain bridges beyond Ethereum

Industry analysts at Delphi Digital give Serum a 65% chance of surviving the next three years. Their reasoning? The tech is solid. The community is active. But trust takes longer to rebuild than code.

Final Verdict

Serum DEX was meant to be the king of decentralized exchanges. It had the speed, the fees, and the architecture to beat everyone. But it lost its way because it trusted a centralized company with too much power.

Today, it’s a ghost of its former self - but still the fastest, cheapest DEX on the market. If you’re comfortable with Solana, understand the risks, and don’t mind doing your own research, Serum is worth using. For high-frequency traders or Solana enthusiasts, it’s still unmatched.

But if you want safety, broad token support, or true decentralization - look elsewhere. Serum’s story isn’t over. But it’s no longer a promise. It’s a test. And the crypto world is watching to see if it can rise again - without a single company holding the keys.