Recap · August 31, 2025 · 25:19
Jito Labs: Crypto's Infastructure, Solana's Future, ETFs and More | TG Podcaas
The Signal
Jito Labs co-founder and CEO Lucas Bruder explains the plumbing beneath much of Solana trading, from a validator client running across 80–90% of stake to the network's largest liquid-staking token. Jito's next major bet is institutional: help make staking work inside Solana ETFs, while redirecting block-engine revenue toward the DAO and token holders.
Key Takeaways
- 01
Jito sits under Solana trading
Telegram bots, Pump.fun, Jupiter, and other trading products use Jito infrastructure; its validator client runs on roughly 80–90% of Solana stake. Bruder says the software has generated more than $1 billion in additional value for stakers.
- 02
Memecoin stress improved the chain
The 2024 memecoin wave through the Trump and Melania launches repeatedly exposed bottlenecks, forcing Jito and Solana engineers to patch systems quickly. The painful load test left the network running much more smoothly.
- 03
ETFs unlock a different buyer
A Solana ETF is not required for the chain to succeed, but it opens access through banks and brokers for investors who will not self-custody. Liquid staking could solve ETF liquidity constraints while letting the underlying SOL continue earning yield.
- 04
Regulatory clarity matters at scale
Retail users may ignore security classifications, but institutions allocating ten or eleven figures cannot. Jito has met the SEC, submitted educational letters, and found the agency's crypto task force informed and technically engaged.
- 05
Revenue is moving toward the DAO
JIP-24 would redirect Jito Labs' block-engine revenue to the DAO. A smaller crypto subDAO is evaluating buybacks, burns, and liquidity incentives so that revenue can either return directly to holders or reinforce JitoSOL's network effects.
On the Record
“Our validator client runs on like 80 to 90% of stake, and yeah, we've helped generate Solana stakers over a billion dollars in value.”
“We were kind of like Cloudflare for the network.”
“I can't think of any technology in the past where people have just been like, 'Yeah, this is fast enough. We're just going to stop here.'”
“The main benefit of the ETF is unlocking access to these digital assets in a place where you don't actually need to custody it.”
The Breakdown
The 22-person team beneath the trade
Bruder describes Jito as two connected businesses. Its block engine and validator software route trading activity and earn a share of fees, while JitoSOL is Solana's largest and most liquid liquid-staking token, usable across DeFi and exchanges. The staking product charges a 4% management fee, and the company stays unusually lean at roughly 21 or 22 people.
Taking liquid staking to the SEC
Jito was the first crypto company to meet the SEC's crypto task force, alongside Multicoin representatives, to explain liquid-staking tokens and their place in ETFs. The work extends beyond regulators to issuers and custodians who know Bitcoin but may still reduce Solana to a memecoin chain. Bruder says those conversations require explaining why a fast, inexpensive network has durable value beyond the latest trade.
The Trump launch broke the filter
Memecoin traffic became a live stress test throughout 2024, culminating in Trump and Melania. Jito saw at least 100,000 trade requests per second while Solana itself processed hundreds; mostly bots were racing to buy, arbitrage, and trade the launches. When Jito's infrastructure failed, the chain lost what Bruder compares to a Cloudflare layer of spam filtering, revealing how central the service had become.
Why throughput keeps climbing
Normal Solana activity was around 1,200–1,500 transactions per second during the conversation, but Bruder rejects the idea that any present ceiling will remain sufficient. Faster hardware and chains unlock applications nobody builds under tighter constraints. Speed has therefore become table stakes, not a feature the industry can declare finished.
A staked Solana ETF's ripple effect
Bruder expects a staked SOL product to be best for users and sees liquid staking as a practical answer to ETF liquidity requirements. If JitoSOL enters those products, the effects run outward: more management fees, more demand from custodians such as Anchorage or Coinbase Prime, and more market makers building liquidity. Treasury companies holding SOL have the same incentive to stake rather than leave yield idle.
Aligning the token with the business
JIP-24 revisits the old split between company equity and protocol token by sending block-engine revenue to the DAO. From there, a dedicated group can choose among buybacks, burns, and incentives for deep JitoSOL/SOL and JitoSOL/USDC liquidity. Bruder calls the ETF and institutional track Jito's top priority, accepting that a 20-person startup must work on the much slower clock of regulated finance.
Distilled from the episode transcript · Counterparty Recap Desk
