Solana protocol Jito grabs $1.4b TVL

Jito: Solana's Largest Protocol with $1.4 Billion in TVL

Jito, a liquid staking and MEV provider, has emerged as the dominant protocol within the Solana (SOL) ecosystem, boasting approximately 38% of assets deposited on Solana's blockchain.

According to DefiLlama, Jito's total value locked (TVL) stands at around 10 million SOL, making it the largest project on the SOL network.

Launched in December 2021, Jito distributed $165 million in free tokens through an airdrop. Users who staked SOL for a specified period were eligible for this community incentive, which was supported by a $10 million Series A funding round led by Multicoin Capital and Framework Ventures.

Despite the recent crypto market downturn, Jito's TVL remains above $1.4 billion, with SOL trading under $140 per CoinMarketCap. Notably, Solana still holds the fourth-highest deposits from DeFi users.

Top SOL Protocols by TVL | Source: DefiLlama

Trailing Jito, Marinade Finance ranks second on SOL's network with a TVL of $1.3 billion, indicating strong demand for yield-generating platforms on the layer 1 chain.

However, neither Jito nor Marinade Finance is among the top three services leading the $45 billion liquid staking landscape. Lido, Rocket Pool, and Binance dominate this market with TVLs of $27.9 billion, $3.6 billion, and $2.6 billion, respectively.

Jito's Plans for Restaking on Solana

According to a report citing anonymous sources, Jito Labs, the entity behind Jito's protocol, intends to introduce restaking capabilities to Solana's network.

Restaking gained traction in 2022 when services like EigenLayer enabled users to secure multiple dApps and solutions with native cryptocurrencies, primarily Ether (ETH).

If Jito successfully implements restaking, it will enter a $15.2 billion market currently led by EigenLayer. This move may also pave the way for Jito to explore the liquid restaking scene alongside projects like Ether.fi.