Drift Protocol was the name of VelocityDEX before the company decided to rebrand. The platform has launched its product with a 0.01% transaction fee, a 2.00% bonus to referrers, and the ability for users to use SOL and USDT as margin collateral while continuing to receive yield from those tokens.

Rebranding From Drift to VelocityDEX

Drift, the first Solana-native perpetuals platform, had processed a cumulative $1,023,046,515 in volume, according to DefiLlama, before becoming VelocityDEX. The new platform is being positioned as a different type of marketplace: a cross-multiplicative derivatives trading venue that allows users to use collateral from one crypto asset to trade against many others, and vice versa.

Source: Phantom

VelocityDEX is keeping most of the features and design of its predecessor, Drift. That includes the virtualized AMM and insurance fund. The main addition is a capital-efficient system built around a margin account that is intended to make the system work at the same time.

That design choice matters because perpetual trading venues compete heavily on execution costs, collateral flexibility, and available liquidity, especially as more traders compare Solana-native platforms with larger rivals.

This approach is also meant to address one of the major issues faced by earlier Solana DEX versions: capital efficiency.

Also Read: Drift Protocol Rebounds With $150M Tether Lifeline After April Exploit

Capital Efficiency and Yield Innovation

The introduction of multi-collateral margin means SOL and USDT can serve not only as trading assets but also as yield-bearing collateral while backing positions. In effect, this addresses a key trader dilemma: choosing between staking income and margin requirements.

JUST IN: @VelocityDEX , formerly Drift Protocol, has gone live with its private beta, offering perpetuals with 0.02% fees, 20% referral rewards, and multi-collateral margin that lets SOL and USDT earn yield while backing positions. pic.twitter.com/qhmpSvXOxl — SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) August 25, 2026

JUST IN: @VelocityDEX , formerly Drift Protocol, has gone live with its private beta, offering perpetuals with 0.02% fees, 20% referral rewards, and multi-collateral margin that lets SOL and USDT earn yield while backing positions. pic.twitter.com/qhmpSvXOxl

With fees as low as 0.02%, far below the 0.05%-0.1% range generally charged by Hyperliquid, dYdX, and Binance for perpetual contracts, and with 20% referral incentives, VelocityDEX is aiming to appeal to active market participants such as high-frequency traders, market makers, and retail investors seeking a lower-friction trading experience.

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Competition Heats Up

At the time of the release, the market for decentralized perpetual contracts had already reached more than $400 billion in monthly volume, according to Token Terminal.

Solana-based platforms are also gaining ground. VelocityDEX now joins other options including Jupiter Perps, Drift’s old site, and Hyperliquid. The platform said there would be several public mainnet launches in the form of a beta release, signaling that the product is still in an early rollout phase even as it enters a crowded and fast-growing segment.

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