Here’s Why Orca (ORCA) Is Surging Over 200% Today

ORCA, the native token of the Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX), grabbed the market’s attention with its meteoric surge today. For perspective, data from CoinGecko shows that the asset surged over 200% to an intraday high of $5.06, a price high last seen in December.

The catalyst stems from the recent announcement from Upbit, the largest crypto exchange in South Korea. The trading platform stated in an X post on March 21 that it will list ORCA for trading.

Strategic Expansion

Notably, Upbit will list the digital assets in three market pairs: the ORCA/KRW (Korean Won), ORCA/BTC (Bitcoin), and ORCA/USDT (Tether). The pair variety provides local traders with diversified access to the asset, increasing liquidity.

Deposits and withdrawals of ORCA have already commenced on the exchange. Meanwhile, trading support for the Orca’s native token is scheduled today at 17:00 KST (Korea Standard Time).

Orca is at the heart of the Solana ecosystem’s decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation, ranking as one of the most-used exchanges in the blockchain. Currently, it is the 10th largest Solana-based DEX with a $2473 million value of assets locked on the platform, according to DeFiLlama.

ORCA’s recent performance reflects the bullish development, which will provide wider access to the asset. The recent listing of Orca’s native token on Upbit marks a strategic expansion for decentralized exchanges under the Solana network into the Asian market.

Temporary Restrictions for Market Stability

Upbit has implemented certain restrictions following the launch of trading support to ensure a stable, reliable, and secure trading environment. The exchange will give a five-minute waiting period for limit buy orders after it adds support for ORCA. Meanwhile, other forms of buy orders will resume after one hour.

Additionally, Upbit will enforce a minimum sell price restriction five minutes after trading support begins. The restriction will disallow sell orders that are below 10% of ORCA’s previous day closing price.

Meanwhile, these temporary trading embargoes will buffer any market volatility that the listing on Upbit would cause and ensure a smooth trading experience.

What is Orca (ORCA)?

Established in 2021, Orca (ORCA) is a decentralized exchange operating on the Solana blockchain. The protocol is user-friendly, boosts over 195 market pairs, and is a key player among DEXs on the network.

Utilizing an automated market maker (AMM) model, Orca offers liquidity pools, including “double dip pools” and “whirlpools,” to incentivize liquidity provision. This innovative approach enables Orca to offer low transaction fees and high speeds, making it an attractive option for traders.

Aimed to simplify DeFi trading, the native token, ORCA, plays a crucial role in the Orca ecosystem, serving as a governance token and rewarding liquidity providers. With a total supply of 100 million units, the team allocated nearly two-thirds of the tokens to the community, demonstrating Orca’s commitment to decentralization and inclusivity.

By leveraging the ORCA token, users can engage in liquidity mining and yield farming, making it an attractive option for those interested in decentralized finance.

Meanwhile, following the Upbit announcement, ORCA’s price surged remarkably by 225% to $5.06, a three-month high. However, at press time, the asset had relinquished 35% of its gained value over the past 24 hours.

ORCA trades at $3.28, boasting a 24-hour trading volume of $845 million, a testament to the growing interest in the Orca platform. With a circulating supply of 53 million, its market capitalization trades at $222 million.