Lamport
The smallest unit of SOL — one billionth of a whole token. Transaction fees and priority bids are often displayed in lamports before conversion to SOL in wallet summaries.
Trading glossary
A living reference maintained by Glow Matrix Core tutors. Terms reflect usage on Solana DEX and lending interfaces as of 2025. For personalised definitions, book a glossary clinic.
Settlement & fees
Priority fee
An optional additional payment attached to a transaction to improve confirmation speed during network congestion. Distinct from the protocol base fee.
Confirmation level
How final a transaction is considered — processed, confirmed, or finalized. Wallets may allow spending after "confirmed" while explorers show deeper finality for larger amounts.
Swaps & liquidity
AMM (Automated Market Maker)
A pool-based exchange mechanism where prices derive from token ratios rather than an order book. Raydium and Orca operate AMM models on Solana.
Slippage tolerance
Your maximum acceptable price deviation between quote and execution. Exceeding it causes the swap to revert rather than fill at a worse price.
Price impact
How much your trade size moves the pool price independent of broader market volatility. Large relative to pool depth means higher impact.
Impermanent loss
The difference in value between holding tokens in a liquidity pool versus holding them in a wallet, caused by price ratio changes. Fee income may offset this difference.
Route
The path an aggregator selects across one or more pools to fulfil your swap. Multiple hops can affect fees, latency, and final output.
Lending & leverage
Health factor
A protocol-specific ratio indicating how close a borrowed position is to liquidation. Falling to 1.0 or below typically allows liquidators to act.
Collateral
Assets deposited to secure a borrow. If value falls or debt rises, available collateral may no longer support the loan.
Liquidation
Forced partial or full closure of an undercollateralised position. Liquidators repay debt and receive collateral plus an incentive fee.
Oracle
An external price feed used by lending protocols. Oracle updates may lag volatile spot markets, affecting displayed health factors.
Accounts & tokens
Associated token account (ATA)
A standard account holding a specific SPL token for your wallet. First receipt of a new token may require creating an ATA, incurring rent.
Token-2022 extensions
Optional features on newer token standards — transfer fees, permanent delegate, interest bearing — that appear as extra labels on explorers and wallets.
Rent-exempt balance
Minimum SOL required to keep an on-chain account open. Closing unused accounts can reclaim this SOL.
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