Solana’s Jito staking pool exceeding $100M in monthly tips: Kairos Research

Solana staking pool Jito clocked monthly revenues from priority fees and tips of more than $100 million in November and December, according to a Dec. 26 note from Kairos Research, a cryptocurrency researcher. 

In 2024, Jito’s validators scaled tip revenues by an average of 32% each month, Kairos said. Monthly income peaked in November at approximately $210 million. 

Jito’s growing tip revenues reflect the Solana network’s surging popularity. They also flag validators’ rising earnings from prioritizing certain transactions over others, a practice known as Maximum Extractable Value (MEV).

Source: Kairos Research

Related: DeFi TVL nears 2021 highs on liquid restaking, Bitcoin L2s

MEV bounty

Users pay validators tips to prioritize transactions during block building and order certain transactions ahead of others within blocks. This helps users ensure transactions are properly executed but also contributes to higher transaction costs. 

In 2024, Solana’s validators earned more from MEV than Ethereum’s for the first time. This coincided with transaction fees on the Solana network nearly tripling from roughly 60,000 Solana (SOL) per day in January to more than 150,000 in October, according to data from Dune Analytics.

As of Dec. 26, upward of 93% of Solana validators use Jito’s software to maximize earnings from block-building, according to Jito’s developer, Jito Labs. 

Source: Dune Analytics

SOL restaking

Jito, which also issues liquid restaking token (LRT) JitoSOL, has emerged as Solana’s most popular decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, with nearly $2.75 billion in total value locked, according to DefiLlama. 

Restaking involves taking a token that has already been staked — posted as collateral with a validator in exchange for rewards — and using it to secure other protocols simultaneously. LRTs represent a tradable claim on a pool of restaked assets.

In October, holders of Jito’s governance token, JTO, voted to distribute a portion of tip revenues to JitoSOL restakers. According to Kairos, Jito plans to route 0.15% of tip revenue to JitoSOL restakers. Validators will continue to pocket an overwhelming majority of income from tips. 

As of Dec. 26, Jito touts yields of approximately 8.6% for JitoSOL restakers. Ethereum continues to dominate staking and restaking TVL, with top restaking protocol EigenLayer commanding nearly $15 billion, according to DefiLlama.

Magazine: Can you trust crypto exchanges after the collapse of FTX?