RAY is Raydium\'s native governance and utility token — 555M total supply, protocol fee staking rewards, and governance rights over the Raydium protocol.
RAY is Raydium's native token with a total supply of 555 million, all minted at launch. Approximately 263 million RAY are in circulation as of 2026. RAY serves two primary purposes: governance voting on Raydium protocol parameters and staking to earn a share of protocol trading fees. The token distribution at launch was: 34% mining reserve, 30% partnerships/ecosystem, 20% founding team, 8% liquidity, 6% community/seed, 2% advisors.
RAY peaked above $16 during the 2021 Solana bull run, collapsed under $0.20 after the FTX implosion in late 2022, and has traded between $0.40-$2.00 since. At approximately $0.64-0.75 in April 2026, RAY has a market cap of roughly $170 million — significantly below the protocol's contribution to Solana DeFi might suggest.
Solana's largest native AMM — deep liquidity, three pool types, concentrated liquidity, and the primary launchpad for new Solana tokens.
Step-by-step walkthrough — from wallet connection to your first swap or liquidity position.
Buy on Raydium itself (swap SOL for RAY), on any Solana DEX via Jupiter, or on centralized exchanges that list it.
Navigate to the Staking section on raydium.io. Stake your RAY to earn protocol fee distributions.
With staked RAY, you can participate in Raydium governance votes on protocol parameters.
Monitor staking APY — it fluctuates with Raydium protocol trading volume. High-volume periods (launch events, bull markets) yield higher staking returns.
RAY is a governance token with price correlated to Solana DeFi activity. High risk, high volatility. Size positions accordingly.
"Staking RAY for protocol fees makes sense during high-volume periods. The TRUMP launch drove excellent staking yields for a week. The token price appreciation has been disappointing vs the protocol\'s performance though."
"The 20% team allocation and 34% mining reserve create structural headwinds for RAY price. Protocol revenue is real but much of it goes to LPs and ecosystem incentives rather than directly supporting RAY value. Not a bad token, just needs better tokenomics design."
"Holding RAY primarily for staking yield and governance participation. Price targets feel speculative given the supply overhang. The staking income is more predictable and valuable in the near term."