Field note · 14 September 2025
Reading a Solana DEX pool page field by field
We annotate a real pool layout the way we do in studio sessions — top to bottom, no skipped rows.
A DEX pool page is a form of technical writing. Each row answers a question if you know which question to ask. We read pages top to bottom in workshops so habit replaces hunt-and-click anxiety.
TVL (total value locked) sums the dollar value of tokens in the pool. It signals depth, not safety. A high TVL pool can still hold volatile assets or sit on unaudited code. We say "depth indicator" aloud when we teach the term so learners do not treat it as a quality score.
Volume 24h measures traded notional in a rolling day. Compare it to TVL: a pool with huge volume relative to TVL may be heavily arbitraged; a pool with low volume may show stale prices between trades.
Your position sections appear after you connect a wallet. Pending rewards and farmed tokens are separate line items on some aggregators. Learners miss rewards when they look only at LP token balance.
Price range on concentrated liquidity positions shows the ticks you chose. Out-of-range means you earn fees only when price crosses your band — a vocabulary point that changes how people read "APR."
We keep a laminated annotated screenshot in the Edinburgh studio. Remote attendees receive a PDF with the same callouts. If you book a pool walkthrough session, send your pool URL beforehand so annotations match your screen.