Will Jupiter End Its $JUP Buyback Scheme?

Jupiter Exchange is reconsidering whether to continue its $JUP token buyback program after spending more than $70 million in 2025, with a limited and short-lived impact on price performance. As of early January 2026, the buyback has not been formally terminated, but public statements from the protocol’s leadership confirm that its future is under review amid persistent concerns about tokenomics, dilution, and value capture.

The discussion places Jupiter at the center of a broader industry debate about whether buybacks can meaningfully support token value in high-emission crypto ecosystems, particularly on Solana.

What Is Jupiter and Why the Buyback Mattered

Jupiter Exchange is a decentralized exchange aggregator built on the Solana blockchain. The protocol routes trades across multiple liquidity venues to deliver optimal pricing and execution for users. It has become one of the most heavily used DeFi applications in the Solana ecosystem.

By late 2025, Jupiter reported more than $1 trillion in cumulative trading volume and approximately $365 million in annualized protocol revenue. These figures were driven by sustained trading activity and the launch of new verticals, including Jupiter Lend, which reached $1 billion in total value locked within eight days.

Against this backdrop of strong operational performance, Jupiter introduced a buyback program to more closely align protocol revenue with the $JUP token's economic value.

Overview of the $JUP Buyback Scheme

Jupiter announced its buyback initiative on January 26, 2025. The program allocated 50 percent of protocol-generated fees to repurchase $JUP in the open market. Purchased tokens would be locked in a multisig wallet for three years, removing them from circulation during that period.

The stated objective was to reduce circulating supply while introducing a predictable source of buy-side demand directly linked to protocol usage. Based on revenue at the time, some community members estimated that daily buybacks could exceed $500,000.

Although initially scheduled to begin within days of the announcement, buybacks did not commence until mid-February 2025. Once active, the program ran continuously through the end of the year.

By December 2025, Jupiter had spent more than $70 million buying back $JUP at an average acquisition price of approximately $0.495. On-chain transaction data showed consistent on-chain purchases rather than over-the-counter transfers, confirming that the program introduced real buy pressure.

Despite this, the token’s market performance weakened over the same period. $JUP traded near $0.19 by late December 2025, down 64 percent from September highs. By early January 2026, the price hovered around $0.205, leaving the token roughly 89 percent below its all-time high, according to CoinMarketCap.

Independent analysts reviewing the program’s outcomes estimated that each dollar spent on buybacks yielded substantially less than one dollar in retained market value. These conclusions were based on changes in circulating supply, emissions schedules, and post-buyback price action, rather than on short-term volatility alone.

The January 2026 Debate

The current debate began on January 3, 2026, when Jupiter co-founder Siong Ong raised the question publicly on X. Ong noted that more than $70 million had been spent on buybacks in 2025, with little sustained impact on price, and asked whether those funds could be used more effectively elsewhere.

The discussion took place shortly after Helium announced the end of its HNT buyback program, citing a lack of measurable market response. Both cases reflect a broader reassessment within crypto markets of the effectiveness of buybacks in token-based systems, particularly when supply expansion is ongoing, and secondary-market liquidity is deep.

The post generated significant engagement as expected. Responses ranged from calls to end buybacks entirely to arguments that the program needed a longer time horizon to show results.

Ong later clarified that no decision had been made and that the discussion was intended to gather feedback rather than signal an immediate policy change. He also addressed misconceptions about Jupiter’s revenue and stated that the majority of his personal net worth remains tied to $JUP.

Community Positions: Split but Engaged

Community reaction remains divided. Supporters of ending buybacks argue that crypto buybacks are structurally constrained when emissions and unlocks exceed repurchase volumes. From this perspective, buybacks risk functioning as a recurring expense without long-term supply effects.

Many in this group advocate alternatives such as direct revenue sharing in stablecoins, staking-based rewards tied to lock-up duration, or incentives that more directly reward long-term participation.

Opponents counter that buybacks should be evaluated over multi-year cycles and warn that discontinuing them could further weaken holder confidence. Some argue that without a compensatory mechanism, $JUP holders bear dilution without receiving a proportional share of protocol revenue.

Possible Alternatives Under Discussion

Several alternatives have emerged in community and leadership discussions:

• Revenue-sharing models that distribute a portion of protocol fees directly to token holders
• Staking mechanisms that reduce liquid supply while offering yield derived from real protocol revenue
• Product-linked value capture, such as paid in-app features or advanced routing services
• Fee tier systems where holding or locking tokens reduces trading costs

None of these approaches has been formally proposed through governance, but leadership has indicated that value accrual mechanisms are under active review.

What Comes Next for Jupiter and $JUP?

Jupiter’s experience highlights a central challenge in DeFi. Substantial revenue and product adoption do not automatically translate into effective token value capture. The buyback program provided a clear and measurable test case, and its results are now informing internal reassessment.

Whether Jupiter ends, modifies, or replaces the program, the decision is likely to influence how other high-revenue protocols approach tokenomics in 2026.

Conclusion

Jupiter has not yet ended its $JUP buyback program, but its future is clearly under evaluation. After deploying more than $70 million with limited and temporary price impact, the protocol is reassessing whether buybacks are the most effective mechanism for aligning token value with business performance. 

The debate reflects broader structural challenges in crypto tokenomics, particularly in ecosystems with persistent emissions. How Jupiter responds will shape not only its own token strategy but also wider industry thinking on sustainable value capture.

Sources:

• X Post: Siong Ong Questions JUP Buybacks
• Website: Jupiter Exchange
• Defillama: Jupiter Exchange TVL