Crypto Gloss

Ramses Exchange

Ramses Exchange is the leading ve(3,3) decentralized exchange on Arbitrum, building on Solidly’s foundation with “CL Pools” — native concentrated liquidity integrated directly into the gauge-bribe governance system — and the RAM token with veRAMS NFT locks, establishing Ramses as Arbitrum’s most-used Solidly-fork DEX.

Overview

Launched on Arbitrum in early 2023, Ramses Exchange differentiated itself from the competing Solidly forks on Arbitrum (primarily Chronos) by more aggressively integrating concentrated liquidity into its core design. Rather than treating CLMM pools as externally managed add-ons (as in THENA’s Fusion or Chronos’s Liquidity Matrix), Ramses built native CL pools with gauge support from launch. This deeper integration with concentrated liquidity attracted DeFi protocols seeking capital-efficient liquidity alongside the gauge emissions.

RAM Token and veRAMS

RAM:

  • Governance and liquidity emissions token
  • Locked to create veRAMS NFT positions
  • Lock duration: up to 52 weeks (shorter than Solidly’s 4-year max, reflecting learnings from over-long locks)

veRAMS (veNFT):

  • ERC-721 NFTs representing locked RAM governance power
  • Transferable on secondary NFT markets
  • Weekly epoch voting on gauge emissions
  • Fee + bribe income for veRAMS holders who vote for active pools

CL Pools (Concentrated Liquidity)

Ramses’s native CL pools:

  • Tick-based liquidity — identical to Uniswap V3’s concentrated liquidity model (x*y=k within defined price ranges)
  • Gauge integration — CL pools receive RAM emissions just like classic pools; no external manager required for gauge eligibility
  • Fee tier selection — multiple fee tiers available (0.01%, 0.05%, 0.3%, 1%) to match pool volatility profile
  • Active management optional — users can manage their own CL positions or deposit into managed vaults (Gamma Strategies, ICHI) integrated by Ramses

The native CL gauge support was a key advantage over Chronos: protocols could direct bribes toward capital-efficient CL positions rather than less-efficient constant-product pools.

Classic Pools

Alongside CL, Ramses maintains Solidly-style classic pools:

  • vAMM — volatile pairs using x*y=k (constant product), suitable for uncorrelated assets
  • sAMM — stable pairs using Curve-style StableSwap invariant, suitable for pegged assets (USDC/USDT, wETH/stETH)
  • Classic gauge support — all classic pools eligible for RAM emission gauges and bribe market

Bribe Ecosystem

Ramses’s bribe market follows Solidly’s model:

  • Protocol bribes — projects pay RAM or other tokens to veRAMS holders who vote for their pool gauges
  • Weekly bribe cycle — each epoch, veRAMS holders choose pools to vote for, receiving fees + bribes from those pools
  • Bribe UI — Ramses provides a bribe interface showing estimated APY per vote for each pool, enabling efficient capital allocation

Ramses became one of Arbitrum’s leading bribe destinations, with major DeFi protocols (Pendle, Jones DAO, GMX ecosystem tokens) paying sustained bribes to ensure deep liquidity on Arbitrum.

Sources

  1. Ramses Exchange Documentation — Ramses Team, 2023. Describes CL pool architecture with native gauge integration, RAM token emission schedule, veRAMS lock mechanics, and bribe marketplace design for Arbitrum-native protocols.
  1. “Ramses vs. Chronos: Arbitrum’s ve(3,3) Competition” — DeFi Edge Research, 2023. Detailed comparison of Ramses and Chronos on Arbitrum including TVL, bribe yield, CL pool efficiency, and protocol partner adoption rates, analyzing why Ramses captured the dominant position despite launching later.
  1. “Native CL Gauges: Why It Matters” — Bankless Research, 2023. Explains the technical and economic difference between externally managed CL integrations (Liquidity Matrix, Fusion) and native gauge-eligible CL pools (Ramses), showing how native integration creates better incentive alignment and deeper liquidity from bribed protocols.
  1. “DeFi Protocol Liquidity Costs: Bribing vs. OTC Deals” — Messari Research, 2023. Analyzes the cost of liquidity acquisition through bribe markets (Ramses, THENA, Velodrome) versus traditional OTC LP deals, finding sustained bribe programs to be cost-competitive with direct LP incentives for protocols above certain TVL thresholds.
  1. Ramses Governance and Protocol Partner Reports — Ramses DAO, 2023. Governance proposals and partner integration documentation covering new CL pool deployments, bribe program structures for partner protocols, veRAMS parameter adjustments, and Arbitrum DeFi ecosystem integrations.

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