Raydium vs Bithumb: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Raydium and Bithumb This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on September 7, 2025

Raydium

Bithumb

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Available Countries

United States

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Yes

Canada

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

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Raydium is ideal if:

If you thrive in the Solana ecosystem, Raydium’s high-speed, low-cost swaps and deep liquidity integration make it a natural fit.
If you're focused on strategic DeFi participation, its Fusion Pools and community-driven token offerings offer advanced, flexible yield opportunities.
If you value non-custodial trading with order-book precision, Raydium’s hybrid AMM design delivers professional execution without sacrificing decentralization.

Bithumb is ideal if:

Perfect for KRW-centric traders: If you prefer trading with South Korean Won as your base currency, Bithumb offers seamless fiat integration, high liquidity, and a smooth experience for KRW-based spot trading.
Great for beginners and hands-off traders: Its clear, user-friendly interface plus built-in features like staking and bot trading make it accessible and appealing to those starting out or seeking passive strategies.
Best for users prioritizing credibility and safety: With strong security certifications (like ISMS, ISO27001), full separation of client assets, and external audits, Bithumb focuses on institutional-level protection and transparency.

Raydium isn’t ideal if:

If you prefer multi-chain access, Raydium’s strong Solana reliance may feel limiting compared to DEXs that support Ethereum, BNB Chain, or others.
If transparency matters deeply to you, Raydium’s largely anonymous founding team can raise concerns about long-term accountability.
If you prioritize ultra-robust security, ongoing DeFi exploit risks and Solana-dependency may be a deterrent despite audits.

Bithumb isn’t ideal if:

You need global fiat flexibility: If you want to deposit with non-KRW currencies, Bithumb’s fiat support is limited, which may not suit you.
You're an advanced trader seeking leverage: Those looking for margin or futures trading won’t find these tools available on Bithumb.
You prefer seamless international onboarding: Verification hurdles, language barriers, and slow KYC in non-Korean languages can slow down global users.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

fee tiers & native-token discounts Raydium applies a straightforward spot trading fee (maker and taker both), typically around 0.25%, with pools varying based on design—some concentrated-liquidity or specialty pools offer lower tiers down to 0.01%, and fees funnel back into liquidity rewards and RAY buybacks, though no explicit discount for using RAY is mentioned in their core documentation.

In KRW markets, maker and taker fees typically range from roughly 0.04% to 0.25%, with better rates unlocked through tiered trading coupons based on volume (discounts apply via native coupons, not necessarily token-based discounts).

Futures/Derivatives

maker/taker & funding During its futures/perpetuals beta phase via the Orderly Network, Raydium offered remarkably low costs—0% maker fees and 0.025% taker fees—supported by Solana’s gas-free environment; funding rates weren’t prominently disclosed, suggesting they might align with market norms or be negotiated per contract.

Bithumb does not currently offer any futures or derivatives markets, so there are no associated maker, taker, or funding fees to consider.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

Thanks to its AMM structure integrated with the OpenBook order book, Raydium delivers competitive pricing and tight spreads on high-liquidity pairs like BTC/USDT or ETH/USDT, leveraging deep order flow to minimize slippage and price impact for traders.

Precise spread data is not publicly provided, but given Bithumb’s strong liquidity in major markets, spreads on BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT pairs are generally tight—typically consistent with reputable high-volume exchanges.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

Raydium does not support fiat on-ramps or off-ramps—it operates strictly in crypto, so users must first acquire assets on other platforms; this means no direct methods, no fiat fees or timing to report, as all funding must occur via SPL-compatible wallets.

Fiat operations center on KRW only, with deposits via bank transfer or card usually fee-free (unless below minimum thresholds) and withdrawals processed via Korean banking channels with typical processing times, without showing fixed fees.

On-chain Withdrawals

Withdrawals on Raydium only incur blockchain network (“gas”) fees, which are dynamic depending on Solana network pressure; there’s no fixed withdrawal fee from the protocol itself, so you only pay the variable SOL-based cost for execution.

Withdrawal costs depend on the blockchain

Hidden Costs

There are essentially no hidden or extra fees on Raydium—no conversion or inactivity charges and no KYC express or expedited processing costs—since user assets remain self-custodied, and the protocol maintains a fully decentralized, permissionless stance without such financial add-ons.

Some indirect costs may arise from currency conversion if funding in non-KRW, and there are no inactivity fees; extra-fast verification services may not be standard or may carry internal pricing, though not explicitly detailed.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

Imagine buying €500 worth of BTC via Raydium: you’d first swap an equivalent amount of crypto—incurring a ~0.25% swap fee plus minimal slippage—then withdraw BTC to your wallet, paying only the on-chain SOL network fee; there’s no fiat fee, and all costs stay modest and transparent.

If you were to buy €500 worth of BTC, you’d first face a regular spot trading fee (within 0.04–0.25%) plus a small spread in execution, then a withdrawal fee in BTC (e.g., 0.0005 BTC)—that combined cost reflects the total out-of-pocket expense.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

Raydium supports over a thousand SPL-based tokens and boasts more than a thousand trading pairs, while its top 20 pairs by volume typically include heavy hitters within the Solana ecosystem with significant liquidity and trade activity.

Bithumb lists approximately 170–180 cryptocurrencies across roughly 400 trading pairs, with the top 20 by volume dominated by KRW-based pairs like BTC/KRW, ETH/KRW, XRP/KRW, USDT/KRW, and others in similar high-turnover positions.

Product Range

Raydium delivers core DeFi services such as spot swaps, staking, yield farming, token launchpad (AcceleRaytor), concentrated liquidity provisioning (Fusion Pools), and perpetual futures trading—all within a self-custodial, on-chain environment.

The exchange supports spot trading, margin trading, staking, crypto lending, and bot/automated trading, but does not offer perpetual futures, options, ETFs, copy trading, or built-in DCA features.

Liquidity

24h Volume & Book Depth Raydium often records daily volumes in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, supported by combined pool and order-book liquidity, which ensures ample depth—especially for major assets like BTC-SOL or ETH-SOL equivalents on Solana.

Bithumb handles daily spot volumes in the high hundreds of millions to over a billion USD, ensuring deep order books—particularly for BTC/KRW and ETH/KRW—offering robust liquidity and execution.

Tools

Users benefit from advanced trading features like limit orders, integration with OpenBook’s on-chain order book, real-time trading analytics, and straightforward interaction via wallet-connected interfaces, though classic charting tools like TradingView aren’t native.

Traders have access to basic orders (limit and market), stop orders, and coupon-driven fee tools; there are also alerts and API access (including WebSocket), though there’s no native TradingView integration.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

Certain decentralized features of Raydium—especially derivatives or token launches—may be inaccessible to residents of restricted territories such as the U.S. and others, while core swapping and staking remain broadly available

Derivatives and margin features are not globally available, with access mainly focused on South Korean users; many international regions, notably US and EU, face limitations or lack derivative access.

Innovation

Raydium stands out with its permissionless launchpad for token offerings and the option for flexible vs locked staking; launch initiatives like AcceleRaytor and concentrated liquidity pools offer dynamic ways to participate in emerging projects.

Bithumb offers staking services and crypto lending along with occasional airdrop or DeFi/NFT promotions, but lacks formal launchpad or launchpool platforms and doesn’t separate between flexible vs locked earn products.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

Raydium is developed by a decentralized team operating under Solana’s framework, without a publicly registered corporate entity or formal headquarters, reflecting typical DeFi protocol structure.

Bithumb is operated by BTC Korea.com Co., Ltd, founded in 2014 and based in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the country’s major crypto exchanges firmly entrenched in Korean financial infrastructure.

Licenses/Registration

The protocol does not hold formal regulatory licenses like VASP or MiCA registration, operating instead as a permissionless DeFi platform without centralized oversight.

As a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in South Korea, Bithumb is subject to oversight under local regulations, and as of mid-2025 it was designated a “conglomerate,” meaning it must adhere to heightened compliance and public disclosure rules.

Custody

Users retain full self-custody of their assets with no third-party custody; while audits and bug bounty programs bolster confidence, there’s no published proof of reserves or specified cold storage ratio.

A significant portion of user assets is held in cold storage, meeting at least 80% reserve requirements; the exchange has also set aside a substantial protection reserve fund (worth over KRW 100 billion) as a buffer in case of operational risk.

Insurance & Protection Funds

There’s no on-chain insurance or formally designated protection fund from Raydium—risk mitigation relies on community governance, audits, and bounty incentives rather than external insurance mechanisms.

It maintains robust cyber insurance coverage, with multi-billion won policies through top Korean insurers, designed to help cover losses from cyber incidents and personal data breaches.

Incident History

In late 2022, Raydium suffered a significant liquidity exploit (~$5M) due to a private key compromise, after which emergency governance steps and DAO-funded compensation were enacted to address losses.

Bithumb has endured several hacks and investigations, including major cryptocurrency thefts in 2017 and 2018, a large insider-related loss in 2019, and multiple regulatory probes since then, though it has taken steps to strengthen its security posture.

Risk Controls

Smart contracts are controlled via upgradeable programs safeguarded by Squads multisig; there’s an active bug bounty system, but typical end-user protections like 2FA, whitelists, or API permission tiers are not part of its non-custodial design.

The platform employs industry-standard security measures—such as two-factor authentication, withdrawal whitelists, IP restrictions, anti-phishing controls, and regular external audits—to offer layered protection for user accounts and funds.

Transparency

The platform maintains visible on-chain admin controls, regular audit disclosures, and governance updates, but does not provide formal monthly reports or SLAs—transparency is primarily through protocol documentation and community channels.

It has enhanced disclosure practices, driven by its conglomerate status, though real-time proof-of-reserve reporting is not publicly available; ongoing regulatory scrutiny is pushing it toward greater transparency in operations.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

Raydium does not support any fiat deposit methods—no bank transfer, card, or e-wallet options—so users must initially acquire crypto elsewhere before interacting with the protocol.

Fiat deposits are exclusively in Korean Won (KRW) and handled via local bank transfers—debit/credit options or e-wallets aren’t supported—amount thresholds vary and processing is typically completed within the same day for local transfers.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

Raydium does not support any fiat deposit methods—no bank transfer, card, or e-wallet options—so users must initially acquire crypto elsewhere before interacting with the protocol.

KYC (Verification Levels)

Being a decentralized protocol, Raydium requires no KYC at any level—there are no identity verification steps, thus no transaction limits or tiers tied to KYC status.

Bithumb enforces tiered identity verification—basic phone/email for browsing, but Level 2 KYC is required to activate withdrawals, with higher limits tied to full verification.

Withdrawals

Limits, Timing & Networks

Crypto withdrawals require KYC Level 2, lower minimums for verified accounts, and are processed within hours (first withdrawal may take longer for security); supported networks include standard chains like ERC-20 and TRC-20, with fees varying by asset.

Customer Support

Raydium offers support through a help center, email, and active community forums like Discord and Telegram, but does not provide 24/7 live chat or guaranteed response times.

Support is reachable via live chat (available 24/7), email, and a regional phone line; response quality varies, backed by an FAQ and help center to assist common issues.

Languages & Localization

Raydium’s interface is primarily provided in English, with no native Spanish support, no fiat-denominated pricing, and no country-specific localization features for regulatory compliance or currency display.

The interface supports multiple languages including English, with prices shown in KRW—there’s no automatic display in USD or EUR, and localization is limited for non-Korean regulatory zones.

App Quality & Stability

Raydium’s mobile app supports full DeFi functionality with a smooth interface and high responsiveness; while exact crash metrics aren’t published, user feedback indicates consistent performance and frequent feature refinements.

The mobile app delivers a smooth trading interface with real-time data and strong security features (biometric login, 2FA), though user reports cite occasional crashes or slow performance during high-traffic periods.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

Raydium’s revamped V3 interface delivers a cleaner, more intuitive navigation, consolidating pools, dashboards, and portfolio elements into one layout; while it doesn’t offer separate “Lite” or “Pro” modes, the design balances simplicity for newcomers with advanced routing features beneficial to experienced DeFi users.

The platform strikes a balance between newcomer friendliness and advanced functionality, offering a clean interface with clear labels and comprehensive charting tools, though it doesn’t explicitly offer separate “Lite” or “Pro” modes.

Performance

With Solana’s high throughput under the hood, Raydium provides fast order execution and smooth interface performance, though network congestion on Solana can occasionally introduce delays during extreme volatility or high-traffic periods.

Order execution is generally fast thanks to high liquidity, though peak volatility can bring some delays or gateway slowdowns, and KYC may slow onboarding during intense market rallies.

Education

Raydium offers educational content through its Academy and governance forums, but lacks built-in demo or simulator tools and has limited Spanish-language resources, relying mostly on English documentation and community translations.

Bithumb provides a dedicated academy and tutorial content via its official channels to help users learn, but it does not currently offer demo accounts or Spanish-language learning resources.

Community

Raydium maintains an active base across Discord, Telegram, Twitter, and governance town halls, fostering strong community engagement and support—though it doesn’t currently offer a formal referral program.

The platform encourages engagement through referral incentives and publishes on Medium, but it lacks officially managed forums, Discord, or Telegram communities for user interaction.

Integrations

Raydium supports SDK and API access, allowing third-party integration with tax platforms, external bots, and accounting tools; however, it lacks native TradingView integration, so charting relies on built-in graph elements or external platforms.

Bithumb supports external tools like TradingView for charting and provides API/WebSocket access for automation, but lacks built-in tax tools or direct accounting integrations.

Who Each One Is Best For

Raydium shines for users immersed in the Solana ecosystem who value fast, composable DeFi trading and liquidity tools, while casual crypto users or those seeking multi-chain, fiat-based simplicity may find interfaces like centralized exchanges or cross-chain DEXs more accessible.

It’s ideal for traders seeking a high-liquidity, reliability-focused exchange that caters to a mix of moderate experience levels, whereas those needing demo tools, Spanish-language education, or a vibrant community may look elsewhere.