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Stan Druckenmiller elegantly summarized the ongoing vibe shift taking place in the business world as Biden exits and Trump enters the White House during a recent appearance on CNBC:

Optimism is in the air and animal spirits have returned to markets. The dollar has already weakened by 1.6% this week, providing additional tailwind to risk assets.

President Trump has also directly ignited animal spirits by launching a self-named memecoin on Solana called $TRUMP, which soared to $70B in fully-diluted valuation before retracing down to $38B today.

Who bebefitted most from the memecoin launch? The onchain degens that bought the coin in the minutes and hours immediately after Trump’s announcement on X.

Had you bought the coin a mere 1 hour after Trump’s post at ~10pm ET last Friday night, you’d be up roughly 4x on your trade. Had you bought it 5 minutes after his post, you’d be up closer to 10x.

While Trump has not yet signed his long-promised executive order about crypto, the market expects him to do so this week.

Solana DEX Raydium Appears Wildly Undervalued

Raydium ($RAY): The Undervalued King of Solana DeFi

Thesis:

Raydium ($RAY) is one of the most undervalued DeFi protocols in the market today, dominating fee generation while trading at a fraction of its competitors’ valuations. With a unique 12% fee-to-buyback mechanism, strategic positioning as the liquidity backbone of Solana DeFi, and an expanding product suite, $RAY offers an unmatched combination of fundamentals, tokenomics, and ecosystem growth.

Raydium’s position as the default launchpad and liquidity hub for PumpFun tokens amplifies its fee generation and market dominance. PumpFun coins, known for their speculative trading volumes, funnel massive liquidity and transaction activity to Raydium.

• PumpFun Impact: These tokens contribute a significant share of Solana DEX volume, with Raydium capturing 50-60% of Jupiter’s routed trades.

• Immediate Fee Growth: PumpFun launches have driven Raydium’s daily fee generation into the top 3 globally on multiple occasions, directly powering its 12% fee-to-buyback mechanism.
  This synergy ensures Raydium thrives as the backbone of Solana’s DeFi ecosystem, benefiting from both speculative and long-term liquidity flows.

Key Data Highlights:

1. Fee Generation Outperformance:

   • $RAY consistently generates more fees than major protocols like Tether and Curve, and even outpaces Uniswap by 3-5x on a per-dollar basis.

   • Raydium’s daily fees 5-7x exceed Hyperliquid, yet its FDV is just 1/7th Hyperliquid’s valuation.

   • Annual Fee Generation Estimate: $300M-$1B, directly driving token buybacks.

2. Undervalued Relative to Competitors:

   • $RAY Valuation: $2B MC / $3.8B FDV.

   • Competitor FDVs:

     • Uniswap ($UNI): $14B.

     • Hyperliquid ($HYPE): $23B.

     • Jupiter ($JUP): $10B.

   • Takeaway: $RAY is trading at a massive discount despite superior fee generation and an aggressive value-accrual mechanism.

3. Unique Tokenomics: Buyback Flywheel:

   • Raydium uses 12% of its fees to buy back $RAY tokens—something no other major DeFi protocol does.

   • On-chain buybacks are visible in real time, with current volume spikes (e.g., Trump token trading) significantly increasing buyback activity.

   • This creates a sustainable flywheel, reducing circulating supply and directly benefiting holders.

4. Dominance in Solana DeFi:

   • Raydium processes 50-60% of Jupiter’s volume, Solana’s largest liquidity aggregator.

   • Serves as the primary launchpad for new tokens, capturing the majority of PumpFun coins and high-demand IDOs.

   • New Perp DEX: Launched with Orderly Network, expanding into perpetual futures—one of the most lucrative DeFi markets.

Why Now?

1. Solana DeFi Surge:

   • Solana is witnessing a DeFi revival, with DEX volumes approaching record highs.

   • The Trump token craze is driving a new wave of adoption, with Raydium at the center of this growth as the primary liquidity provider.

   • As Solana continues to scale (with network performance metrics surpassing Ethereum), Raydium’s market share ensures it captures this growth.

2. Regulatory Clarity in the U.S.:

   • Potential crypto-friendly regulations under Trump could unlock massive retail and institutional inflows into DeFi.

   • Raydium, as a core infrastructure piece of Solana, benefits from being the “shovel” in this gold rush.

3. Immediate Catalysts:

   • DEX Volume Growth: Current trading activity from new tokens is visibly driving buybacks.

   • Solana Ecosystem Adoption: Projects migrating to Solana further consolidate Raydium’s role as the hub for liquidity.

Risk/Reward Analysis:

Upside Potential:

• $15.00-$20.00 price target in the medium term, as Raydium re-rates closer to peers like Uniswap and Jupiter.

• Significant upside if Solana DeFi continues to expand and $RAY's buyback mechanism further reduces supply.

Risks:

• Overreliance on Solana: Network performance and ecosystem health are critical to Raydium’s success.

• Competition: While currently dominant, new entrants or aggregators could reduce Raydium’s market share.

Conclusion: Why $RAY Is a Strong Bet

Raydium combines the highest fee generation in DeFi, a revolutionary buyback mechanism, and a dominant position within Solana’s fast-growing DeFi ecosystem. Trading at a fraction of its competitors’ valuations, $RAY offers asymmetric upside as Solana DeFi volume explodes. For traders and investors looking to own the infrastructure of the next DeFi cycle, $RAY is a top-tier opportunity.

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Got feedback? Follow the writer on Twitter @frank_locascio and send a message.

The BRRR is meant for informational purposes only. It is not investment advice. Please consult with your investment, tax, or legal advisor before making any investment decisions.