What Is Jito?

Jito is the dominant MEV (maximal extractable value) infrastructure provider on Solana. The Jito ecosystem includes a modified Solana validator client, a block engine that auctions transaction inclusion, JitoSOL (one of the largest Solana liquid staking tokens), and a governance DAO controlled by the JTO token. Together these products are responsible for capturing and redistributing a significant portion of the MEV generated on Solana.

• Overview - Table of Contents
• What Is Jito?
• Getting Started With Jito
• How To Get A Jito Wallet?
• Jito Resources
• How To Buy Jito?
• Latest Jito News

Jito Labs was founded in 2021 by Lucas Bruder and Zano Sherwani, with the goal of bringing professional MEV infrastructure to Solana. Their thesis was that MEV is unavoidable on any productive blockchain, and that giving validators and stakers a transparent, auctioned mechanism to capture it is preferable to letting opaque sandwiching and front-running flourish. The Jito-Solana validator client, a fork of Solana's reference client with MEV extensions, has become the most widely adopted client among Solana validators.

The block engine is the core of Jito's MEV system. Searchers (specialized traders looking for MEV opportunities) submit "bundles" of transactions along with bids for inclusion. The block engine runs an off-chain auction and forwards the winning bundles to validators running the Jito-Solana client. Tips paid by searchers are split between validators and stakers, providing additional yield on top of base staking rewards. This mechanism converts MEV from a hidden tax into transparent, redistributable revenue.

JitoSOL is the protocol's liquid staking token (LST). When users stake SOL through Jito, they receive JitoSOL, which represents their staked SOL plus accrued rewards. JitoSOL automatically benefits from the MEV tips collected by the underlying validator set, so its yield typically exceeds that of plain SOL staking. JitoSOL has become one of the most widely integrated assets in Solana DeFi, used as collateral, in liquidity pools, and in lending markets across protocols including Marinade, Kamino, MarginFi, and Drift.

JTO is the governance token of Jito DAO, launched in December 2023 through one of the larger Solana airdrops. JTO has a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens, with allocations across community airdrops, ecosystem development, the core team, and investors. The Jito DAO governs key protocol parameters, including the validator delegation strategy for JitoSOL, fee structures, treasury usage, and decisions about new products. JTO holders can stake JTO and participate in proposals through the Realms-based governance interface.

Jito has expanded beyond MEV and liquid staking into related infrastructure. Jito (Re)Staking is a framework that allows JitoSOL and other staked assets to be restaked to secure additional networks and applications, similar in spirit to Ethereum's restaking ecosystem. Jito Restaking introduces vault and node consensus network primitives that let new protocols rent economic security from Solana stakers.

Jito's role in Solana is significant. The network's high throughput and low fees create dense MEV opportunities, and Jito's auction-based system shapes how those opportunities are distributed. The combination of a popular liquid staking token, a widely adopted validator client, and an MEV redistribution mechanism makes Jito one of the most economically important protocols in the Solana ecosystem.

Getting Started With Jito

The most common way to interact with Jito is by staking SOL for JitoSOL or holding JTO for governance:

1. Step 1: Set up a Solana wallet such as Phantom, Solflare, or Backpack and fund it with SOL.
2. Step 2: Visit the Jito website and connect your wallet to the staking interface.
3. Step 3: Stake SOL to receive JitoSOL, which automatically accrues both staking and MEV rewards.
4. Step 4: Use JitoSOL across Solana DeFi as collateral, in liquidity pools, or in lending markets to layer additional yield.
5. Step 5: Acquire JTO and participate in Jito DAO governance to vote on parameters and the protocol's roadmap.

Solana validators interested in adopting the Jito-Solana client and serving block engine bundles can find setup documentation on Jito's site.

How to Get a Jito Wallet?

JTO and JitoSOL are SPL tokens on Solana and can be held in any wallet that supports the Solana network:

Phantom

Phantom is the most popular Solana wallet, available as a browser extension and mobile app. It supports JTO and JitoSOL out of the box, along with seamless connections to Jito's staking and governance interfaces.

Solflare

Solflare is a dedicated Solana wallet with a strong native staking experience. It supports JTO and JitoSOL and offers integrated staking and DeFi features for managing positions.

Backpack

Backpack is a multi-chain wallet built by the Coral team that handles Solana natively. It is well-suited to users who interact heavily with Solana DeFi, including Jito.

Hardware Wallets

Ledger hardware wallets support Solana SPL tokens including JTO and JitoSOL via integrations with Phantom, Solflare, and Backpack. Hardware wallets are recommended for larger holdings or long-term JTO governance positions.

Jito Resources

• Jito Official Website
• Jito GitHub
• Jito Documentation
• Jito Blog
• Jito Governance Portal
• Jito on X

How to Buy Jito?

JTO is available on a wide range of centralized and decentralized exchanges:

Centralized Exchanges

JTO is listed on Binance, Coinbase, OKX, Bybit, Kraken, KuCoin, and many other major exchanges. Common pairs include JTO/USDT and JTO/USDC, with several platforms also supporting direct fiat purchases.

Decentralized Exchanges

On Solana, JTO can be swapped through Jupiter (the leading Solana DEX aggregator), Raydium, and Orca. JitoSOL itself is liquid across most Solana DEXs and is widely used in DeFi alongside USDC and SOL.

After purchasing JTO, consider staking it through Jito DAO governance to participate in decisions about validator delegation, fees, and the future direction of the protocol.

Latest Jito News

Jito has continued to grow as one of the most important pieces of Solana infrastructure. JitoSOL remains among the largest liquid staking tokens on the network, integrated across most major Solana DeFi protocols, and the Jito-Solana validator client is run by a large share of Solana's stake. Jito's MEV revenue distribution has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in tips to stakers and validators since launch.

The Jito (Re)Staking framework introduced in 2024 has continued to expand, attracting new node consensus networks and vault deployments through 2025 and into 2026. Jito DAO has also been active in governance, including major decisions on fee parameters, validator delegation strategies for JitoSOL, and treasury usage. Jito's broader role in shaping Solana's MEV market remains a defining feature of the ecosystem.