DeFi

Liquidity Pool

A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.

IDliquidity-poolAliasLPAliasPool

Plain meaning

Start with the shortest useful explanation before going deeper.

A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.

Mental model

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Think of it as a market mechanic used to price, route, or move capital through liquidity apps.

Technical context

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AMMs, routing, liquidity, lending, and trading infrastructure.

Why builders care

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Liquidity Pool (liquidity-pool)
Category: DeFi
Definition: A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.
Aliases: LP, Pool
Related: AMM (Automated Market Maker), LP Token, Impermanent Loss
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Concept graph

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Branch

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

Branch

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.

Branch

Impermanent Loss

The unrealized loss an LP experiences when the price ratio of pooled tokens diverges from the ratio at deposit. If one token appreciates significantly, the LP holds less of that token than if they had simply held it. The loss is 'impermanent' because it reverses if prices return to the original ratio. For a 2x price change, IL is ~5.7%.

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DeFi

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

DeFi

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.

DeFi

Impermanent Loss

The unrealized loss an LP experiences when the price ratio of pooled tokens diverges from the ratio at deposit. If one token appreciates significantly, the LP holds less of that token than if they had simply held it. The loss is 'impermanent' because it reverses if prices return to the original ratio. For a 2x price change, IL is ~5.7%.

DeFi

Liquidity Depth

The total amount of liquidity available at various price levels in a market or pool, indicating how much can be traded before causing significant price impact. Deep liquidity means large trades execute with minimal slippage; thin liquidity means even small trades move the price. Liquidity depth charts visualize available buy and sell liquidity across price ranges and are critical for assessing trade execution quality.

Commonly confused with

Terms nearby in vocabulary, acronym, or conceptual neighborhood.

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DeFiliquidity-depth

Liquidity Depth

The total amount of liquidity available at various price levels in a market or pool, indicating how much can be traded before causing significant price impact. Deep liquidity means large trades execute with minimal slippage; thin liquidity means even small trades move the price. Liquidity depth charts visualize available buy and sell liquidity across price ranges and are critical for assessing trade execution quality.

DeFilending

Lending Protocol

A DeFi protocol that enables users to deposit tokens to earn yield and borrow tokens against collateral. Key Solana lending protocols include Solend, MarginFi, Kamino, and Save (formerly Solend v2). Lending rates float based on utilization (borrowed/deposited). Deposits receive interest-bearing receipt tokens representing their share.

DeFiclmm

CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker)

An AMM design where liquidity providers concentrate their capital within specific price ranges instead of across the full 0-to-infinity range. CLMMs dramatically improve capital efficiency—LPs earn more fees per dollar deposited within their active range. If the price moves outside the range, the position becomes inactive. Orca Whirlpools and Raydium CLMM are leading implementations on Solana.

AliasCLMMAliasConcentrated Liquidity
Related terms

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DeFiamm

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

DeFilp-token

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.

DeFiimpermanent-loss

Impermanent Loss

The unrealized loss an LP experiences when the price ratio of pooled tokens diverges from the ratio at deposit. If one token appreciates significantly, the LP holds less of that token than if they had simply held it. The loss is 'impermanent' because it reverses if prices return to the original ratio. For a 2x price change, IL is ~5.7%.

Builder paths

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Builder Path

DeFi Builder Path

Learn the trading and liquidity vocabulary behind the app layer.

6 terms
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DeFi

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

DeFi

CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker)

An AMM design where liquidity providers concentrate their capital within specific price ranges instead of across the full 0-to-infinity range. CLMMs dramatically improve capital efficiency—LPs earn more fees per dollar deposited within their active range. If the price moves outside the range, the position becomes inactive. Orca Whirlpools and Raydium CLMM are leading implementations on Solana.

DeFi

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.

DeFi

Swap

The exchange of one token for another through a DEX, either via an AMM pool or an order book. The user specifies an input token/amount and receives output tokens at the current market rate minus slippage and fees. On Solana, swaps settle in a single transaction (~400ms) with fees typically 0.01-0.3% per trade.