How HumidiFi Became Solana's Largest Prop AMM
How HumidiFi Became Solana's Largest Prop AMM
157 days agoLightspeedBlockworks
Podcast54 min 53 sec
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Note: AI-generated summary based on third-party content. Not financial advice. Read more.
Quick Insights

Consider an investment in Solana (SOL), which is solidifying its position as the premier blockchain for high-frequency trading. A key, time-sensitive opportunity is the upcoming launch of the WET token, offering direct exposure to the highly efficient trading firm HumidiFi. This launch will occur on Jupiter's new DTF platform, making the Jupiter (JUP) token a strategic bet on the growth of the entire Solana trading ecosystem. An investment in JUP serves as a broad proxy for the health of all trading activity on Solana. The core thesis relies on Solana successfully attracting trading volume from other chains and centralized exchanges.

Detailed Analysis

Solana (SOL)

  • The podcast positions Solana as the premier blockchain for trading, with a goal of becoming the home for "internet capital markets."
  • Its technical architecture, with fast block times (400ms slots) and low transaction costs, is uniquely suited for the high-frequency strategies employed by Proprietary Automated Market Makers (Prop AMMs) like HumidiFi.
  • The ecosystem is fostering intense competition between trading venues, aggregators, and infrastructure providers, which is driving innovation and resulting in better prices and tighter spreads for users.
  • A key narrative is the effort to move price discovery on-chain, away from a reliance on centralized exchanges like Binance. The goal is for Solana to be the source of truth for asset prices.
  • The ecosystem is focused on providing "day one liquidity," meaning it aims to be the best place to trade a new token the moment it launches, as demonstrated by the Monad (MON) launch.
  • Future upgrades like Firedancer are mentioned as part of the ongoing effort to scale the network's transaction capacity.

Takeaways

  • The core investment thesis for Solana is its specialization in trading. Its success is tied to its ability to attract and retain trading volume from other chains and centralized exchanges.
  • Investors should monitor metrics like DEX volume, the market share of Prop AMMs, and the number of new tokens choosing to launch on Solana as indicators of the ecosystem's health and the validation of this thesis.
  • The growth of a complex, competitive trading infrastructure on Solana could be a long-term bullish catalyst for the SOL token, as all this on-chain activity increases demand for SOL for transaction fees and network security.

HumidiFi (WET Token)

  • HumidiFi is a "Proprietary Automated Market Maker" (Prop AMM), which means it uses its own capital and a sophisticated, high-frequency trading algorithm to provide liquidity, rather than relying on user deposits like traditional AMMs (e.g., Uniswap, Orca).
  • It is described as extremely capital efficient, facilitating $500 million to over $1 billion in daily trading volume with only around $8 million in its own inventory (TVL).
  • Its competitive advantage comes from:
    • A predictive, off-chain price model that incorporates data from numerous sources to determine an asset's "fair value."
    • Highly efficient on-chain execution, using a very low amount of compute units (under 50 CUs) to get its price updates on-chain faster than competitors.
  • HumidiFi has a stated goal of being the "alpha on the chain," meaning it aims to have the best pricing model and execution to profitably trade against anyone, including sophisticated arbitrage bots, rather than blacklisting them.
  • The team is launching a token, WET, via Jupiter's new DTF (Decentralized Token Formation) platform.

Takeaways

  • The upcoming WET token launch represents an opportunity to invest directly in a leading piece of Solana's core trading infrastructure.
  • The investment thesis is a bet on the continued growth of trading on Solana and HumidiFi's ability to maintain its competitive edge in the highly competitive Prop AMM space.
  • A risk factor mentioned was the system's robustness. During a period of extreme volatility (the "10-10 event"), HumidiFi's price model "fell over," causing them to stop quoting and miss out on an estimated $500,000 in profit. While they claim to have improved the system since, it highlights the technical risks involved in such complex operations.

Jupiter (JUP)

  • Jupiter is described as the top trade aggregator on Solana, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem by routing user trades to the venues with the best prices, including Prop AMMs like HumidiFi.
  • The dominance of aggregators like Jupiter has been a key factor in the rapid growth and market share capture of Prop AMMs.
  • Jupiter is expanding its product suite beyond aggregation by launching DTF, a new platform for token launches. HumidiFi's WET token will be the first project to launch on it.
  • The team is considered one of the best in the business at community building and marketing on Solana.

Takeaways

  • Jupiter is a central hub in the Solana DeFi ecosystem. Its success is tied to the overall trading activity on the chain, as it earns fees from the volume it routes.
  • An investment in the JUP token is a broad bet on the health and growth of the entire Solana trading scene.
  • By moving into the token launch space with DTF, Jupiter is positioning itself to capture value from new projects entering the ecosystem, further solidifying its central role.

Monad (MON)

  • Monad (MON) was used as a prime example of a successful "day one" token launch on Solana, facilitated by Prop AMMs.
  • HumidiFi was able to provide deep liquidity for MON within an hour of its launch, even before it was trading on Coinbase.
  • At one point, HumidiFi was offering the best prices for MON globally, beating centralized exchanges and even DEXs on Monad's native chain.
  • An estimated 60% to 80% of the total trading volume for the MON token was conducted through Prop AMM venues on Solana.

Takeaways

  • The MON launch serves as a powerful case study for Solana's value proposition. It demonstrates that new, high-demand tokens can achieve deep liquidity and efficient price discovery on Solana from the moment they are created.
  • This capability could attract more projects to launch on Solana, creating a flywheel effect of more assets, more traders, and more volume for the entire ecosystem.

Orr

  • Orr is mentioned as an example of a token that HumidiFi is providing liquidity for, despite it having no listings on any centralized exchanges (CeFi).
  • This is referred to as "abstinence trading" (no CeFi involved) and is a significant challenge because there is no external price feed to reference.
  • HumidiFi is experimenting with creating a price model for Orr based purely on decentralized trading activity, aiming to prove that price discovery can happen entirely on-chain.

Takeaways

  • Orr represents a frontier investment theme. The ability to create stable, liquid markets for assets that exist only within DeFi could unlock a new wave of on-chain innovation.
  • This is a high-risk, high-reward area. Success here would be a major step toward a truly decentralized financial system, but the technical challenges of pricing assets without an external reference are substantial. Investors interested in the cutting edge of DeFi should watch experiments like this closely.
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Episode Description
Gm! We're back with Kevin from HumidiFi to discuss how they became the largest prop AMM on Solana. We deep dive into what are prop AMMs, is price discovery moving onchain, launching their token, the aftermath of 10/10 and more. Enjoy! -- Follow Danny: https://x.com/defi_kay_ Follow Lightspeed: ⁠https://twitter.com/Lightspeedpodhq⁠ Join the Lightspeed Telegram: ⁠https://t.me/+QUl_ZOj2nMJlZTEx⁠ -- Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: ⁠https://blockworks.co/newsletter/⁠ -- (00:00) Introduction (03:18) What Are Prop AMMs? (07:24) The Monad ICO (10:00) Capital Efficiency & Profitability (17:35) Is Price Discovery Moving Onchain? (27:15) The Aftermath Of 10/10 (32:40) Trading On SOL vs Other L1s (40:13) DEX Aggregators (42:48) What's Next For HumidiFi? (45:26) Launching The WET Token (48:02) What's Next For Solana In 2026? -- Disclaimers: Lightspeed was kickstarted by a grant from the Solana Foundation. Nothing said on Lightspeed is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Danny, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
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