An Invitation To Stake With the Jito Protocol
Note: The Jito Points program has ended and points will no longer be updated
We would like to invite you to join the 14,000 stakers earning MEV on Solana! Last week we launched our latest campaign, offering bonus points for stakers that one-click deposit stake accounts and mint JitoSOL. For those considering minting JitoSOL, we’d like to walk you through the three most important things about the protocol:
- Security
- Validator Set and MEV
- Solana Defi
But first, let’s dive into what Jito is!
What is Jito?
Jito is a protocol developed to democratize access to MEV on the Solana network through a suite of software tools. The protocol also contributes to JitoSOL, the fastest growing liquid staking token on Solana with more than 2.4M SOL staked.
The centerpiece of the protocol is Jito-Solana, an open source fork of the Solana Labs validator client, which supports the efficient extraction and distribution of MEV to Solana stakers. Jito-Solana is currently running on more than 185 validators and has more than 35% of Solana stake, securing more than $3B of staked Solana. Validators are connected to a network of MEV searchers (high frequency traders) through block engines, which allows searchers to bid for priority access to blockspace. These MEV rewards are transparently and automatically shared with stakers!
In order to get access to MEV, Solana stakers can opt-in to minting JitoSOL. JitoSOL is a seven-time audited liquid staking token on Solana that delegates to more than 50 high quality validators running the Jito-Solana client across 61 data centers. By minting JitoSOL, one can unlock liquidity on their staked assets and participate in Solana DeFi.
To read more about Jito, check out our website. Now that you understand Jito, let’s cover some details about the JitoSOL token.
Security
Security is one of the most important considerations when depositing into any DeFi protocol. JitoSOL uses the Solana Program Library (SPL) Stake Pool implementation, written by Solana Labs engineers. The program is used by several of the new Solana liquid staking tokens including bSOL from Blaze Stake, laineSOL from Laine, and LST from Marginfi. The stake pool program has been audited seven times across the following auditing firms:
These firms have extensive experience auditing various Solana codebases including the Solana Labs validator client, Jito-Solana, as well as Solana, EVM, and Cosmos DeFi protocols. While the program has been audited multiple times, it is recommended to assess the risk yourself.
Validator Set and MEV
In addition to security, it is critical to evaluate a stake pool’s validator set as that’s the key driver for yield and performance. The validator set should contain validators that have the following characteristics:
- Low skipped slot rate and high uptime
- High number of successful votes
- Low fee commission
- Be globally distributed
- Share MEV with their stakers
The Jito protocol will live on-chain forever and grow to tens of millions SOL staked. It's important to remain competitive on yield and performance while also ensuring the validator set is positively supporting the network. JitoSOL is able to balance performance and a distributed validator set thanks to the Jito-Solana client, the first MEV client for the Solana network.
The Jito-Solana validator client contains a transaction spam filtering system and supports efficient transaction processing in the form of bundles. This allows the validator client to extract MEV and distribute it to stakers. The Jito-Solana validator client has been open sourced since October 2022 and audited several times by Halborn, Neodyme, and Ottersec. The validator client is currently running on more than 185 validators and 35% of stake, representing more than $3B of staked SOL. The Jito stake pool only delegates to validators running this client which results in high uptime, performance, and the distribution of MEV to stakers. If you’re looking to get access to MEV from a wide variety of validators, this is the perfect pool for you.
Solana DeFi
One can deposit and hold JitoSOL to accumulate points, but the true benefits of liquid staking shine when paired with the accelerating Solana DeFi ecosystem. Almost 30% of JitoSOL, or $18M at time of writing, is being used in Solana DeFi across protocols like Marginfi, Drift, Meteora, Kamino, Orca, Raydium, Hawksight, Mango, and more. To learn more about DeFi protocols on Solana, check out the Defillama page.
Wrapping Up
We recognize that in the fast-changing world of Solana DeFi, choosing where to stake can be a daunting task. However, with the Jito protocol's groundbreaking features and its alignment with Solana's broader vision, we believe it offers a promising avenue for stakers seeking yield while also contributing positively to the Solana network's health.
With our emphasis on security, a well-balanced validator set optimized for performance, and seamless integration with the thriving Solana DeFi landscape, JitoSOL offers a unique proposition to the community.
We invite you to become part of this journey and experience the benefits of staking with the Jito protocol firsthand. Dive in, explore, and let's shape the future of Solana DeFi together!