Jito, the second-largest protocol on Solana in terms of total value locked, has introduced its new governance token through an airdrop on Thursday, aligning with the ongoing trend of airdrops on the layer 1 blockchain. The freshly debuted token, known as JTO, has swiftly garnered a market cap of $242 million.
Approximately 10,000 unique addresses qualified for the airdrop, and eligible addresses were receiving a minimum of over $9,000 in JTO at one point on Thursday, taking advantage of the airdrop mechanism. Users staked small amounts of SOL to receive substantial sums of JTO.
This airdrop is designed to recognize the contribution of Jito community members in bootstrapping the network and to encourage robust participation in governance. JTO provides token holders with voting power over Jito’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), enabling them to participate in decisions related to staking pool fees, treasury management, and contributions for ongoing development.
Trading at $2.04, according to CoinGecko, JTO has quickly gained traction, boasting a market cap of $242 million. Major centralized exchanges like Coinbase, Bybit, and MEXC have already listed JTO for trading.
Jito’s fully diluted valuation stands at nearly $1.8 billion, while the leader in liquid staking, Lido’s LDO token, holds a fully diluted valuation of $2.4 billion. The fully diluted valuation is calculated by multiplying a token’s price by its total supply.
This token introduction coincides with the resurgence of the Solana ecosystem, as Solana’s total value locked has surged by 115% in the past 30 days to approximately $700 million, outpacing several other blockchain networks including Ethereum, Avalanche, and Tron.
The JTO token launch follows another recent Solana-based airdrop, that of blockchain oracle firm Pyth. The airdropped tokens have an 18-month claiming window, constituting 10% of the total JTO supply. Unclaimed tokens are directed to a treasury governed by Jito’s DAO, overseen by JTO holders.
Jito, established in late 2022, operates as a liquid staking platform that enables users to stake SOL tokens, securing the Solana blockchain through validators. Additionally, it provides liquidity to stakers by issuing JitoSOL, the protocol’s liquid staking token representing the user’s initial deposit and accrued rewards.
