Drift v3 is the protocol’s biggest performance upgrade yet. Rebuilt around trader execution, v3 delivers 10x faster fills, 10x improved liquidity, and a cleaner, more intuitive interface than v2.

This upgrade was built for one thing: outperformance. Instant execution. Deeper liquidity. A suite of tools that helps you trade faster and with more confidence.

Drift v2 was the first to bring cross-margin and multi-asset collateral to DeFi on-chain trading. We built on Solana to deliver NASDAQ-level performance on-chain and with major Solana upgrades like Alpenglow, Firedancer and Jito’s Block Assembly Market (BAM), Drift is built to outperform as the network scales. 

Since launch, Drift has surpassed 1.5B in TVL, $133B+ in total trading volume and $650M in open interest. Drift v3 is built to take those numbers and your trading even further. 

Drift v3 will be available on Dec 4, 2025. New users will need an invite code to access Drift v3.

DM @DriftProtocol to request access. 

Why v3? 

Drift v3 represents the protocol’s next stage of maturity: the point where years of infrastructure, liquidity, and execution improvements converge into a faster, clearer, more reliable trading experience. 

Over the past year, Drift has evolved in three critical areas: 

1. Execution speed 
2. Liquidity depth
3. Trader experience 

How Drift v3 outperforms

The road to v3 was focused on improving liquidity, trading execution and speed. Here’s what that looks like in practice: 

Trading Execution and Speed

• 10x faster order fills: On Drift v3, 85% of market orders are filled within the same slot. A slot is Solana’s smallest time unit (about 400 milliseconds). On Drift, that means that trades are executed in under half a second. Instant execution.
• 15x faster take profit/stop loss triggers: For BTC, it dropped from 15 slots (~6 seconds) to 1 slot (~0.4 seconds). This means your risk controls and exits now trigger immediately, reducing slippage and missed opportunities. 
• Gasless trading by default: Unlike other DEXs, where you pay gas on every trade, Drift abstracts gas fees so that’s one less thing to worry about eating into profits
• 400ms oracle updates: Prices update every 400 millisecond (roughly 2.5 times per second). This keeps quotes accurate and reduces the chance of stale pricing. 
• Scales with Solana: As Solana increases block size and throughput, Drift automatically gets faster too, handling more trades per second. 

Liquidity

• 10x reduction in slippage on market orders: In Drift v2, large market orders could move the price by 20 bps. In v3, that’s been cut to just 2 bps. Traders now get far better pricing, especially on size.
• 5x tighter TP/SL execution: Take-profit and stop-loss orders are far more precise. On major markets like SOL and BTC, fills are 4x tighter, while non-majors see up to 5x improvement. This means exits trigger closer to the price you set, reducing losses and protecting gains.
• Introduction of Drift Liquidity Provider (DLP): Provides liquidity for both Perps and Spot markets. Community members can deposit funds into DLP to support market-making and earn a share of the pool's profits. Currently in the testing stage. Public launch in Q1 2026. 
• Expanded Market Maker Program: With v3’s expanded market maker initiatives, long-tail altcoins now have depth and spreads that rival majors.
• Upcoming Jito BAM plugin: Drift is working with Jito on an order priority system that enforces “cancel-before-take” at the app level. This protects market makers from toxic flow, allowing them to quote more aggressively and deepen liquidity across all markets.

Features of Drift v3: A Faster, Performance-Focused Trading Experience

Available December 4

Key upgrades include:

• New Portfolio Dashboard: Toggles to see realized P&L vs unrealized P&L, with or without trading fees and funding payment. Features multiple P&L breakdown views real-time performance analytics, transparent fee tier display, DRIFT Staking Booster display and a separation between trade v earn PnL. ‍
• Unified Account Panel: All your accounts (trading and non-trading) are now displayed in one consolidated area on the side panel, making it instantly accessible. ‍
• Improved AMM liquidity: With better oracle price updates the AMM will increase support for atomic trading, which drastically increases the available liquidity for savvy traders. ‍
• Advanced tools: Apply custom leverage per market instead of global leverage, track ROI% per asset or strategy, and run multiple strategies under different risk profiles

‍

Features coming soon

• Auto-signing: One-click frictionless trading. No more wallet popups. 
• Multi-source Deposits: Deposit from more places with fewer steps. This reduces friction for onboarding new users and powering capital inflows.
• Isolated Margin: Trade specific markets with isolated collateral. 

Longer-Term v3 Features (Rolling out Q1 2026)

Drift Liquidity Provider (DLP)

Drift’s new liquidity layer for Perps and Spot, serving as the counterparty for trader positions. This will scale trading volume on Perp and Spot markets. Depositors earn yield from multiple sources: trading fees, deposit APY, and trading P&L
Currently in the testing stage.

Mobile App

Soon, you’ll be able to experience a seamless, performance-first Drift experience on Mobile. The team aims for early beta to commence in January 2026. 

[REDACTED] 

It will be revealed eventually. 

Engineered to Outperform

The new v3 features adds to Drift’s core:  

• Multi-collateral support: Trade with SOL, BTC, stables and 40+ tokens, all in one account. 
• Capital Efficiency at the Core with Built-in passive yield: Earn automatically on deposits, and even while in positions. No extra steps required.
• dSOL yield: Drift’s liquid staking token delivers best-in-class returns, with 100% of fees distributed to stakers. 
• Built on Solana: We chose Solana because it was the only chain capable of supporting high-performance trading from day one and Drift scales directly with its infrastructure upgrades: ‍
• Alpenglow (expected 2026): Solana’s consensus upgrade delivers 100-150 millisecond finality, enabling trades on Drift to confirm faster than centralized web2 systems. ‍
• Firedancer: Unlocks higher throughput gains, ensuring Drift’s execution remains seamless even under peak demand. 

‍Outperforming together

Drift v3 also grows the entire ecosystem. With new ways to build on Drift, both builders and liquidity providers can thrive alongside traders.

• Builder Codes: Any developer can integrate Drift’s backend directly into their frontend or app. Each trade routed through their integration generates fee revenue, creating a new income stream without needing to build an exchange from scratch. This makes Drift’s liquidity accessible across wallets, trading apps, and new DeFi products. 

Looking Ahead

Our mission has always been to build the best trading experience. Drift v3 is the clearest expression of that mission yet.  

With faster execution, deeper liquidity, and an ever-evolving tool suite for traders and builders, Drift v3 sets the new benchmark for trading.

We’re building for those who demand more. And with v3, Drift is built to outperform. 

Start Trading on Drift Now