Solana-based Jito Announces JTO Governance Token and Airdrop for Past Users

Jito, the second-largest Solana-based protocol by total value locked, is about to launch a governance token and airdrop part of the supply to past users.

The JTO token will have total supply of 1 billion, 10% of which will be airdropped to users who have contributed to the Jito Network’s development over time. A snapshot to determine user activity was taken on Nov. 25.

The airdrop by the Cayman Islands-based Foundation consists of 90 million JTO tokens for immediate distribution and an additional 10 million JTO unlocking over the next year, according to a Nov. 27 post from the Foundation.

Jito is an infrastructure developer for the Solana ecosystem with the goal of minimizing the negative impact of MEV, or Maximal Extractable Value. Its JitoSOL token – not to be confused with the JTO governance token being launched – is a liquid staking derivative with TVL of 6.8 million SOL, according to the post.

Influence Decision-Making

The move to launch a governance token is designed to give community members a direct role in making decisions that influence the future direction of the Jito Network, according to the announcement post.

The JTO token will let holders participate in key decisions including, setting JitoSOL stake pool fees, updating delegation strategies, managing the DAO-held JTO treasury and fees accrued from JitoSOL, and contributing to the continuous improvement of Jito’s protocols and products.

Airdrop Eligibility

Long-standing JitoSOL holders, users engaging with JitoSOL on various DeFi protocols, Solana validators operating the Jito-Solana MEV client, and searchers actively utilizing Jito Network’s MEV products, are some of the users eligible for the airdrop.

Of JTO’s total supply of f 1 billion, 34.3% will be allocated towards community growth — the 100 million of JTO tokens for the airdrop come from this pool.

A pool of 25% of the total supply will go to ecosystem development, 24.5% will support core contributors, and 16.2% will go to investors. Investors’ tokens will unlock over three years, with a one-year cliff.

Community members will soon be able to check their eligibility for the JTO token airdrop on the Jito Network website. Further, a Command Line Interface (CLI) will be provided to validators and searchers once the airdrop claim window opens.