Understanding Bin Ranges and Price Impact on Solana DLMMs
Bins are the individual price buckets that hold liquidity in a DLMM. Each bin covers a small price increment (0.01%-4% depending on settings). When you trade, your order consumes liquidity from bins at the current price and beyond. The more bins you consume, the more the price moves. This movement is called price impact.
Table of Contents
Quick Answer
Bins = small price boxes that hold liquidity. Price impact = how much your trade moves the price. Bigger trades consume more bins and cause more impact. Dense liquidity across many bins means less impact. Sparse liquidity means small trades can cause big moves.
What bins actually are
In a DLMM like Meteora, the price curve is divided into discrete "bins." Each bin holds liquidity for a tiny price range.
Think of it like a staircase instead of a ramp. Traditional AMMs have a smooth curve (the ramp). DLMMs have steps (the bins). Each step is a bin.
When you provide liquidity, you're filling specific bins. When you trade, you're emptying them.
Bin width determines the step size. Common widths:
- 0.1% - Very precise, mostly for stablecoins
- 0.5% - Moderate precision
- 1% - Standard for most tokens
- 2% - Wider steps, less precision
Narrower bins give more control but mean you need more of them to cover a range. Wider bins are simpler but less capital efficient.
How trades move through bins
Let's say the current price is $0.001 and you want to buy $10,000 of a token.
- Your order first takes liquidity from the bin at current price
- If your order exceeds that bin's liquidity, price moves to the next bin
- Process repeats until your full order is filled
- The final bin determines your ending price
Example: If the first bin had $8,000 and the second bin had $5,000, your $10,000 order would:
- Consume all $8,000 from bin 1
- Consume $2,000 from bin 2
- Leave $3,000 in bin 2
Your average price is weighted across the bins you consumed. This is price impact.
Calculating price impact
Example:
- Initial price: $0.001000
- After your buy: $0.001050
- Price impact: 5%
Factors that increase price impact
- Larger order size
- Less liquidity in bins
- Wider bin spacing
- Concentrated liquidity already depleted
Factors that decrease price impact
- Smaller order size
- More liquidity in bins
- Narrower bin spacing
- Fresh liquidity that hasn't been traded
Why traders should care
Before buying
Check if your order size will significantly move price. If $10,000 causes 8% impact, you might want to split the order or wait for more liquidity.
Before selling
Same logic. Large sells into thin liquidity will dump price and give you a worse exit.
Setting stop losses
Your stop loss price isn't guaranteed if liquidity is thin. A stop at -10% might execute at -15% if bins between are empty.
Identifying opportunity
Thin liquidity above current price with a solid narrative might mean a small catalyst could push price quickly. The inverse for shorts.
Reading price impact on charts
On CLOBr's liquidity depth chart, bar length shows liquidity at each 1% price level. You can eyeball price impact:
Dense bars (long)
Your order will absorb across these bins without much movement. Low price impact.
Sparse bars (short or missing)
Your order will blow through these levels. High price impact.
Example read: If you see $200K at current price but only $20K each at the next 5% up, a $300K buy would consume the $200K at current price, fly through the thin $20K levels, and cause significant price impact (likely 5%+ easily).
Bin spacing on different platforms
| Platform | Bin Width Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meteora DLMM | Variable (set at pool creation) | Common: 0.5%, 1%, 2% |
| Orca Whirlpools | Fixed per fee tier | Varies by fee tier (e.g. 1bp, 2bp, 4bp, etc.) |
| Raydium CLMM | Variable | Similar to Meteora |
Narrower bins = more precision but higher gas costs (more positions to manage).
Price impact vs slippage
These terms often get confused:
Price impact
How your trade moves the market price. Larger orders = more impact.
Slippage
The difference between expected price and executed price. Can include price impact plus any price movement during execution.
Slippage tolerance
The maximum slippage you accept. Set 1% tolerance and your trade fails if execution would be worse than that.
On Solana, execution is fast so slippage from timing is minimal. Price impact is the main factor.
Tools for checking before you trade
- Jupiter quote preview: Shows expected output and price impact before you confirm
- CLOBr depth chart: Shows liquidity depth at each level so you can estimate impact for different order sizes
- DEX UI warnings: Most DEXs warn when price impact exceeds 1-5%
Best practice: For orders over $10,000 on any but the most liquid tokens, check liquidity depth first. Split into smaller orders if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's a 'good' price impact?
Under 1% is good. 1-3% is acceptable for memecoins. Above 5% means you're either trading too big or the token is too illiquid. Consider smaller size or different timing.
Can I cause permanent price damage?
Not permanently. If you buy and push price up 10%, arbitrage bots and sellers will often bring it back. But you bear that cost as the buyer. Patience often means better entries.
Does time of day affect liquidity?
Yes. Liquidity is often thinner during off-hours (US nighttime, weekends). Major tokens are fine, but smaller tokens can have noticeably worse liquidity at odd times.
Quick Reference
- Under 1% impact: good. 1-3%: acceptable for memecoins. Over 5%: reconsider.
- Bigger order + thinner liquidity = more impact
- Always check depth before sizing up
- Split orders when single-trade impact looks ugly
Check Price Impact Before You Trade
CLOBr shows you liquidity depth at every price level. Estimate your price impact before executing large orders.
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