Jito

A Solana-based protocol providing MEV infrastructure for validators and non-custodial liquid staking via JitoSOL, distributing rewards from transaction ordering and stake delegation.

What is Jito?

Jito Labs, founded in 2022, develops high-performance MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) infrastructure on the Solana blockchain, including the Jito-Solana client—a fork of the official Solana validator software—that enables validators to capture and redistribute MEV profits from transaction bundling and ordering. Its Block Engine and ShredStream tools allow searchers to submit bundles of up to five transactions for atomic, sequential execution within a single block, reducing failures during congestion and enhancing efficiency for DeFi applications like Jupiter swaps or Raydium trades. As of September 22, 2025, over 90% of Solana validators run the Jito client, processing more than 80% of network blocks and distributing $150 million in MEV tips year-to-date, per Jito’s dashboard.

Jito’s liquid staking pool issues JitoSOL (program ID: JitoSOL111111111111111111111111111111111), a derivative representing staked SOL that accrues both native staking yields (~7% APY) and MEV rewards (~1-2% additional APY), with a total value locked of $2.8 billion and circulating supply of 45 million tokens trading at ~$240 (mirroring SOL’s price with premium accrual). Users stake SOL via wallets like Phantom for JitoSOL, which integrates seamlessly into Solana DeFi protocols such as Orca pools or Kamino lending, enabling capital-efficient yield farming without lockups. The JTO governance token (market cap ~$500 million, price ~$3.50) empowers holders to vote on fee structures and treasury allocations through the Jito DAO, which has funded $20 million in ecosystem grants by mid-2025.

Security features include non-custodial staking and MEV auctions that mitigate sandwich attacks, though past Solana vulnerabilities prompted Jito’s proactive audits and Merkle Distributor adaptations for upgrades like Alpenglow (SIMD-0326), approved in September 2025 to reduce finality to 100-150ms. Recent X discussions highlight Jito’s role in securing wrapped BTC on Solana, with 66% of such trades leveraging its MEV protection amid $1 trillion in cumulative volume, but users should note risks like slashing for validator downtime (under 0.1% incidence rate).