| FEATURE | VELOCITY | PACIFICA |
|---|---|---|
| Type | DEX | DEX |
| Taker Fee | 0.06% | 0.04% |
| Maker Fee | -0.0025% | 0.015% |
| Max Leverage | 20x | 50x |
| Perp Pairs | 4 | 77 |
| Spot Trading | No | Yes |
| KYC Required | No | No |
| Rating | 2.5 | 3.6 |
Velocity vs Pacifica: key differences
Velocity is still in recovery after a security incident. Read the status notice in the Velocity review before depositing.
Opening and closing a $10,000 position with market orders costs $8.00 on Pacifica and $12.00 on Velocity at base-tier taker fees, a difference of $4.00 per round trip.
For limit orders, Velocity pays makers a 0.0025% rebate, while Pacifica charges makers 0.015%.
Pacifica allows up to 50x leverage against 20x on Velocity. The headline figure usually applies to a few markets only, so check the limit on the pair you trade.
Pacifica lists 77 perpetual markets, Velocity lists 4.
Pacifica also has spot trading; Velocity is perpetuals only.
Neither exchange requires KYC: both are used by connecting a wallet.
Margin is posted in USDT, SOL, wBTC, wETH on Velocity and in USDC, SOL on Pacifica.
Figures as of 2026-10-04, from each exchange's documentation, CoinGecko and DeFiLlama.
Costs, liquidity and safety in detail
| Velocity | Pacifica | |
|---|---|---|
| Taker round trip on $10,000 | $12.00 | $8.00 |
| Maker round trip on $10,000 | $0.50 rebate | $3.00 |
| Best-tier taker fee | 0.02% | 0.028% |
| BTC max leverage | 20x | 50x |
| Margin modes | cross-margin | cross, isolated |
| 24h volume | — | $297M |
| TVL | $343M | $27M |
| Custody | non-custodial | non-custodial |
| Collateral | USDT, SOL, wBTC, wETH | USDC, SOL |
| Deposit networks | Solana | Solana |
| Minimum order | — | $10 |
| Order types | 11 | 12 |
| Options | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Testnet or demo | No | Yes |
| Vaults or copy trading | No | Yes |
| Insurance fund | Yes | No |
| Audited | Yes | Yes |
| Restricted jurisdictions | — | 13 |
| Founded | 2021 | 2025 |
Choose Velocity if
- You have read its recovery status first: users affected by the earlier incident have not been made whole.
- You place limit orders: makers earn a 0.0025% rebate.
- You want a sign-up discount: 5% off fees through a referral link.
Choose Pacifica if
- You mostly use market orders: 0.04% taker fee against 0.06% on Velocity.
- You want higher leverage: up to 50x against 20x.
- You trade smaller or newer markets: 77 perpetual pairs against 4.
- You want spot and perpetuals in one account.
Velocity
PROS
- + Trading is open again: the public beta has been available to all users since September 21, 2026, with BTC, ETH and SOL perpetuals at up to 20x leverage and HYPE at up to 10x
- + Makers receive a 0.0025% rebate on post-only orders at every volume tier, and the taker fee falls from 0.06% to 0.02% above 200 million dollars in 30-day volume
- + One cross-margin account accepts USDT, SOL, wBTC and wETH as collateral, and deposits earn lending interest while they back positions
CONS
- − About 286 million dollars was stolen on April 1, 2026 through compromised administrator keys, and verified user losses are about 295.4 million dollars
- − Affected users have recovered about 1 percent so far: each DFX recovery token redeemed for about 0.0104 USDT from a 3.11 million USDT pool in early October 2026
- − The relaunched exchange lists four perpetual markets, down from more than 40 before the exploit, and spot order book trading was removed
Pacifica
PROS
- + Base perpetual fees of 0.015% maker and 0.04% taker, falling to 0% maker above 100 million dollars and 0.028% taker above 500 million dollars of 30-day volume
- + 77 perpetual markets in the API on October 4, 2026, including FX (EURUSD, USDJPY), commodities, US stocks, and SP500, with 50x leverage on BTC, ETH, EURUSD, and USDJPY
- + Wide order type set documented: market, limit, stop market, stop limit, TWAP from 1 minute to 24 hours, scale orders of up to 100 limit orders, OCO, and trailing stop
CONS
- − Restricted in the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, Syria, North Korea, and the Philippines under the Terms of Use dated June 11, 2026, and VPN use to bypass the block is prohibited
- − The docs still describe a Closed Beta: account equity for deposits is capped at 500,000 dollars and withdrawals at 500,000 dollars per 24 hours
- − The docs publish one audit report (BlockSec, April 2025) and describe no insurance fund; losses beyond the backstop liquidator are covered by auto-deleveraging of profitable traders
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Velocity or Pacifica better?
Pacifica has a higher rating (3.6 vs 2.5). Pacifica offers lower fees (0.04% vs 0.06%). Choose Velocity for its features, and Pacifica for lower fees.
What are the fees on Velocity vs Pacifica?
Velocity charges 0.06% taker / -0.0025% maker. Pacifica charges 0.04% taker / 0.015% maker for perpetuals.
Which has higher leverage, Velocity or Pacifica?
Velocity offers up to 20x, and Pacifica offers up to 50x. Maximum leverage applies to selected markets and falls as position size grows on both exchanges.
Do Velocity and Pacifica require KYC?
Velocity does not require KYC. Pacifica does not require KYC. Both restrict some jurisdictions (Velocity publishes no list we could verify; Pacifica lists 13), so check the terms of service for your country before depositing.
Is Velocity or Pacifica safer?
Velocity has been audited and runs an insurance fund, and custody is non-custodial. Pacifica has been audited and has no insurance fund on record here, and custody is non-custodial. Neither audits nor insurance funds remove smart contract risk, so size deposits accordingly.