ORCA Token Surges Ahead of Treasury Buyback Vote
The price of ORCA, the native token of Solana-based decentralized exchange Orca, has jumped nearly 20% this week. The rally comes as the Orca DAO prepares to vote on a proposal that would redirect treasury funds toward buying back ORCA tokens over the next two years.
As of now, the treasury holds roughly 55,000 SOL (worth about $9.9 million) and just over half a million USDC. If the proposal passes—and it likely will, given the current 100% “yes” votes and a quorum already met—those funds would be staked in Orca’s validator node. The Orca Council would then withdraw portions of the assets periodically to execute buybacks.
The vote closes in about 24 hours, so unless something unexpected happens, this thing is pretty much a done deal.
Where Orca Stands in the Solana Ecosystem
Orca is currently the third-largest DEX on Solana, handling somewhere between $19 and $20 billion in trading volume this past July. Year-to-date, the platform has pulled in around $115 million in fees.
Here’s where those fees go: half gets funneled into protocol development, 30% lands in the treasury (which, again, could soon be used for buybacks), and the remaining 20% is already earmarked for a separate, ongoing ORCA buyback program. That second initiative will eventually support ORCA staking, which the team says is on track to launch in September.
So, if everything goes according to plan, ORCA holders could see two different mechanisms driving demand for the token in the coming months.
Is ORCA Undervalued? Maybe, But It’s Complicated
Right now, ORCA’s market cap sits at about 7.36 times its revenue. That’s roughly 24% lower than Raydium (RAY), which trades at 9.63x. On paper, that might make ORCA look like a bargain—assuming revenues hold steady.
But that’s a pretty big assumption. Solana’s DEX space is getting crowded, with new proprietary AMMs popping up all the time. The competition is fierce, and it’s not getting any easier. If trading volumes dip or fees shrink, that revenue multiple could start looking a lot less attractive.
Still, the buyback proposal—along with the upcoming staking launch—could give ORCA a short-term boost. Whether that momentum lasts is another question entirely.
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