Orca is one of the most user-friendly and trusted decentralized exchanges on Solana. Known for its clean design, simple experience, and ultra-efficient Whirlpools (concentrated liquidity AMM), Orca is a favorite among both beginners and advanced DeFi users.
This guide walks you through everything you need to start using Orca:
- Setting up your Solana wallet
- Swapping tokens on Orca
- Understanding Whirlpools (Orca’s CLMM)
- Providing liquidity and earning yield
- Avoiding common pitfalls
This edition is updated for 2025, incorporating the latest Orca features and widely referenced Solana tutorials.
1. What Is Orca?
Orca is a Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) offering:
- Fast, low-fee swaps
- Whirlpools — concentrated liquidity pools
- Stable pools for low-volatility assets
- Clean, beginner-friendly UI
- Fair price routing across supported pools
Orca is known as the “most beginner-friendly Solana DEX,” thanks to its simple design and transparent pricing.
2. Before You Start — What You Need
To use Orca, you need:
✔ A Solana Wallet
Compatible wallets include:
- Phantom
- Solflare
- Backpack
- OKX / Binance Web3 Wallet (Solana-enabled)
✔ SOL for Gas
Solana gas fees are very low (fractions of a cent), but you must always keep at least 0.01–0.05 SOL for transactions.
✔ Understanding SPL Tokens
Orca supports all SPL tokens, including:
- SOL
- USDC / USDT
- BONK、WIF、JUP、PYTH 等热门 Solana 项目币
- Thousands of new tokens (be cautious)
3. How to Connect Your Wallet on Orca
Step 1 — Open the Official Website
Go to:
👉 https://www.orca.so/
👉 Click Launch App
Step 2 — Connect Wallet
- Click “Connect Wallet”
- Choose Phantom / Solflare / Backpack
- Approve connection
Once connected, your SOL balance will appear at the top of the interface.
⚠️ Always confirm the URL to avoid phishing sites.
4. How to Swap Tokens on Orca (Basic Swap)
Orca’s swap interface is designed for speed and clarity. Here’s how to perform your first trade:
4.1 Choose Tokens to Swap
You will see two boxes:
- From token
- To token
Common examples:
- From: SOL → To: USDC
- From: USDC → To: BONK
- From: SOL → To: WIF
If your token is not listed, paste the mint address manually (only from trusted sources!).
4.2 Enter Swap Amount
- Input how much of the From token you want to trade
- Orca calculates expected output instantly
- You’ll also see:
- Minimum received
- Price impact
- Estimated fee
- Route used
4.3 Approve & Confirm
- Click Swap
- Wallet popup appears
- Double-check:
- Token names
- Token mint addresses
- Received amount
- Click Approve
Solana processes your transaction within 1–3 seconds.
4.4 Why Use Orca for Swaps?
- Super fast execution
- Low gas
- Very low slippage on major pairs (SOL/USDC, SOL/USDT)
- Intuitive UI
- Stable pools for low-volatility trading
Even beginners find Orca easier than Raydium or Jupiter for quick swaps.
5. Understanding Whirlpools (Orca’s Concentrated Liquidity AMM)
Whirlpools are Orca’s flagship feature — similar to Uniswap v3 but optimized for Solana.
Whirlpools allow LPs to:
- Provide liquidity in custom price ranges
- Earn higher yield with less capital
- Capture more fees due to concentrated liquidity
This makes Orca the top choice for yield farmers and advanced LPs in the Solana ecosystem.
5.1 Why Whirlpools Are Better Than AMMs
Compared to traditional constant-product AMMs, Whirlpools:
- Enhance capital efficiency
- Increase fee earnings
- Reduce wasted liquidity
- Allow dynamic strategies
- Provide more stable returns on correlated pairs
Examples of popular Whirlpool pools:
- SOL/USDC
- RAY/SOL
- BONK/USDC
- WIF/SOL
5.2 Risks of Whirlpools
Whirlpools also come with risks:
⚠️ Impermanent Loss
Providing liquidity exposes you to IL — especially in volatile token pairs.
⚠️ Out-of-Range Liquidity
If price exits your range →
Your position stops earning fees until price re-enters.
⚠️ Token Risk
Memecoins can drop 50–90% in a day.
6. How to Add Liquidity in Orca Whirlpools
Here’s the step-by-step guide for adding liquidity:
6.1 Step 1 — Navigate to Whirlpools
- Go to the Whirlpools tab in the Orca app
- Browse available pools
- Choose a pair based on:
- Liquidity
- Volume
- APR
- Risk tolerance
6.2 Step 2 — Select Fee Tier
Orca pools have different fee tiers:
- 0.01% → ideal for stablecoins
- 0.05% → major pairs like SOL/USDC
- 0.3% → volatile pairs
- Higher tiers → riskier tokens, higher rewards
Choose based on volatility and expected volume.
6.3 Step 3 — Choose Price Range
This is the heart of concentrated liquidity.
Options:
✔ Wide Range
- Safer
- Lower APR
- Harder to go out-of-range
✔ Narrow Range
- Higher APR
- Higher IL risk
- May go out-of-range faster
6.4 Step 4 — Add Token Amounts
You must deposit equal value of both tokens based on the current pool price.
Orca autofills the required balance.
6.5 Step 5 — Approve Transactions
- Approve token spending
- Approve liquidity addition
- Confirm in your wallet
Once confirmed, you become an LP in that Whirlpool.
7. How to Earn Yield with Orca
You earn:
✔ Trading Fees
Proportional to your liquidity amount.
✔ Additional Emissions (Optional)
Some Whirlpool pools include token incentives (rewards paid in RAY, ORCA, JLP, etc.).
✔ Higher Rewards for Narrow Price Ranges
More concentrated liquidity = higher fee capture.
8. Removing Liquidity
At any time:
- Go to Your Positions
- Choose the position
- Click Remove Liquidity
- Approve transaction
You will receive your tokens back in whatever ratio the pool has rebalanced into.
9. Safety Tips for Using Orca
✔ Always verify SPL token mints
Especially for memecoins — fake tokens are everywhere.
✔ Don’t LP with money you can’t afford to lose
Concentrated liquidity can outperform holding — but can also underperform dramatically.
✔ Monitor your price range
Advanced LPs adjust range frequently.
✔ Keep SOL for gas
Never let your SOL balance drop to zero.
10. Who Should Use Orca?
Great For:
- Beginners who want simple token swaps
- Users who want clean UI and fast execution
- Yield farmers exploring Whirlpools
- Traders who prioritize low fees on Solana
Not Ideal For:
- People who don’t understand impermanent loss
- Those uncomfortable managing price ranges
- Users wanting to trade extremely illiquid tokens (use Jupiter for aggregation)
11. Final Takeaway
Orca remains one of the best DEX experiences in Solana DeFi:
✔ Beginner-friendly swaps
✔ Powerful Whirlpools liquidity engine
✔ Efficient fee rewards
✔ Fast, low-cost Solana execution
✔ Ideal blend of simplicity + advanced yield tools
If you master swaps and Whirlpools on Orca, you unlock one of the most efficient DeFi platforms across all blockchains — not just Solana.