Drift, one of the largest perpetual contracts trading platforms on Solana, has launched Drift v3, a major upgrade designed to make on-chain trading feel as fast and smooth as using a centralized exchange.
Thanks to a rebuilt backend, the new version will make trade execution on the platform 10 times faster, marking the biggest performance leap achieved by the project to date.
The Drift team says that in v3, around 85% of market orders will be filled within half a second, and liquidity will deepen enough to reduce slippage on larger trades to around 0.02%. The upgrade is designed to make on-chain derivatives trading feel smoother and more consistent for everyday users.
Tools such as take profit and stop loss orders will also update faster, running within a single Solana session instead of seconds. Oracle prices will be refreshed at the same time, and gas fees will continue to be abstracted so users do not have to deal with transaction costs in transactions.
In addition to speed improvements, Drift will also roll out an updated user interface, including a cleaner portfolio page, a clearer account display and a simpler borrowing and lending section.
“Drift v3 embodies our commitment to delivering CEX-level performance on Solana,” said Cindy Leow, Drift core contributor. “Our goal is to build the fastest, most intuitive and most capital efficient sustainable platform in the cryptocurrency space. With this upgrade, we meaningfully raise the bar for DeFi derivatives.”
As for what’s next, Drift will address things like automated signing, easier deposits, quarantined deposits, and eventually a mobile app. The team is also testing a new Drift liquidity provider pool, designed to make it easier for users to provide liquidity to the permanent and spot markets while earning revenue.
Read more: Solana-powered Drift raises $25M to build ‘super app’ for DeFi transactions
