Meteora
Meteora is a decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity protocol and decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Solana blockchain. It evolved from Mercurial Finance in 2023 with a focus on enhancing liquidity provision through its Dynamic Liquidity Market Maker (DLMM) technology. Meteora's native governance token, MET, launched in October 2025 following the protocol's rebrand from Mercurial Finance. [1] [4]
Background — Mercurial Finance (2021–2022)
Mercurial Finance was founded in 2021 as one of the first stable automated market makers (AMMs) on Solana, reaching over $3.5 million in seed funding from DeFiance Capital, HTX Ventures, and Signum Capital. In February 2023, the team chose to rebuild, rebranding as Meteora with new tokenomics and a compensation plan for MER holders.
Meteora Protocol (2023–present)
Rebranded as Meteora in early 2023, the protocol emerged as a core liquidity layer within the Solana ecosystem. It integrated directly with Jupiter, Solana's largest DEX aggregator, ensuring substantial swap volume routed through Meteora's DLMM pools. By January 2025, the platform's monthly trading volume had escalated significantly, illustrating a 40-fold increase from December 2024 [2] and securing a substantial portion of Solana's DEX market share. As of mid-2025, Meteora held over $208 billion in cumulative trading volume since launching in 2023. In May 2025, it became the highest fee-generating platform on Solana, processing $5.37 million in daily fees, exceeding Pump.fun and Solana's own daily network fees. The protocol also established itself as a major infrastructure for token launches within Solana, with 96% of new tokens utilizing its services. [2]
Products and Technology
Meteora's core technological offerings include several advanced tools designed to optimize liquidity and yield:
- Dynamic Liquidity Market Maker (DLMM): Concentrates liquidity into discrete price "bins," dynamically adjusting fees based on market volatility, thereby enhancing capital efficiency by 40-60% compared to traditional AMMs.
- Dynamic AMM (DAMM) Pools: Extends classic constant-product pools by lending unused tokens to protocols such as Kamino, Marginfi, and Solend, generating dual yield streams from swap fees and lending returns.
- Dynamic Vaults: Utilize the Hermes engine to auto-rebalance capital across lending protocols, optimizing yields automatically every minute, with built-in systems to manage capital utilization.
- Alpha Vault: Safeguards token launches from sniper bots and front-running.
- M3M3 Platform: A stake-to-earn system that offers rewards for locked liquidity in memecoins.
- Dynamic Bonding Curve (DBC): Supports token launch mechanics, enhancing flexibility and efficiency in token distribution. [2] [5]
MET Token
The MET token serves as Meteora's native governance and utility token, introduced via a Token Generation Event (TGE) in October 2025 with 48% of its total supply initially available, one of the largest initial float releases on Solana. The token's distribution includes 20% allocated to former MER holders, 15% to liquidity providers, and the rest directed towards DAOs, ecosystem activities, and the team. MET holders have the opportunity to stake their tokens to receive a share of swap and lending fees. The token's launch was notably preceded by a liquidity provision incentive program divided into two seasons. [6] [3]
Controversy
In February 2025, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed against Meteora co-founder Ben Chow, alleging he orchestrated pump-and-dump schemes involving the LIBRA, M3M3, and TRUST tokens, using celebrity endorsements — including from Melania Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei — to defraud retail investors. The lawsuit alleged violations of RICO statutes, claiming a scheme involving insider-funded accounts, paid influencers, and use of Meteora's liquidity controls to execute price spikes followed by rapid liquidity withdrawal. Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, named as an alleged co-conspirator, stated in a YouTube interview that the team "sniped our own coin to prevent snipers from sniping our own coin." A leaked video showed Chow stating: "I feel so sick, because I gave him Melania. I made a serious mistake because I enabled the guy that should not have been enabled." Chow resigned from Meteora in February 2025; Jupiter co-founder Meow stated he showed "a lack of judgment and care." Meteora stated that neither it nor Chow engaged in financial misconduct.
In October 2025, hours after the MET TGE, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence identified three addresses linked to the Trump team as recipients of a $4.2 million airdrop of MET tokens. The addresses were identified as the TRUMP token developer address and two addresses that had provided early liquidity for TRUMP. All three recipients deposited the tokens to OKX exchange shortly after receipt.
Ecosystem and Integrations
Beyond its core platform, Meteora's integration with Solana's broader ecosystem included a collaboration with Jupiter and involvement in various launchpad partnerships such as Moonshot and Believe. The protocol has received continued backing from diverse investors including DeFiance Capital, HTX Ventures, and the Solana Foundation. Additional launchpad integrations include BAGS, Jup Studio, and DAOs.fun. Pyth Network serves as Meteora's oracle provider.
