Jupiter Exchange May Halt JUP Buybacks After $70M Spent

Highlights:

• Jupiter spent over $70M on JUP buybacks in 2025.
• Jupiter’s token (JUP) dropped 89% from its all-time high despite buybacks.
• The team now considers shifting focus to growth incentives.

Jupiter Exchange is considering ending its JUP buyback program after spending more than $70 million in 2025. Co-founder Siong Ong brought up the idea, questioning whether there were better growth objectives that capital could serve. The exchange had allocated 50% of the protocol revenue to repurchasing JUP tokens. These tokens were locked for three years. The strategy has, however, not been able to drive strong price movement.

JUP is down almost 89% from its all-time high of 1.83. The token is trading around $0.2066 at the time of press, with a market cap and trading volume of $660 million and $40 million, respectively. Still, Jupiter is among the leading decentralized exchanges on Solana despite the price decline. The platform experienced almost $170 million in volume within the past 30 days, according to data from Dappradar.

Solana Community Reacts to Buyback Doubts

The post by Siong brought up a discussion across the Solana ecosystem. Critics cautioned that JUP buybacks served to align token value with the success of Jupiter. They claimed the protocol commitment enhanced investor confidence.

what do you all think if we stop the JUP buyback?

we spent more than 70m on buyback last year and the price obviously didn’t move much.

we can use the 70m to give out for growth incentives for existing and new users.

should we do it?

— ⚔️ SIONG (@sssionggg) January 3, 2026

A Solana proponent claimed that terminating buybacks would make JUP a worthless memecoin. He noted that this would damage the appeal of the token even when revenue increases. Others, however, saw a new path. They advocated the redirection of money towards incentives and user growth. 

Siong stated that $70 million could drive more users than repurchasing tokens. The founder also explained that he was not exploring departure. He emphasized that 99% of his net worth remains in JUP. He further added that it would have been easier to sell than to grow the token.

Other Founders Rethink Buyback Strategies

The discussion mirrored comparable moves in the crypto realm. Amir Haleem, head of Helium, abandoned buybacks as well. He stated that the Helium market disregarded $3.4 million in buybacks. His company instead decided to invest in subscribers and product improvements.

an update on HNT buybacks: the market doesn’t seem to care about projects buying their tokens back off the market, so we are going to stop wasting our money under the current conditions

Helium + Mobile generated $3.4M in October alone and I’d rather we use that money to grow the…

— amir (@amirhaleem) January 2, 2026

Siong applauded the stance of Haleem and thanked him for “taking the first step.” The move also prompted the Jupiter team to reassess priorities. Buybacks, as suggested by Haleem, seem less effective in the current market conditions. Most founders feel a bit more attention needs to be given to operations and growth.

Meanwhile, the Jupiter team also presented different community ideas. Sharing protocol revenue with JUP stakeholders in SOL or USDC was one of the ideas. According to its supporters, it could encourage adoption using direct rewards. Siong, though, dismissed the staking proposal, claiming that the rewarding of passive holders does not encourage growth. He noted that the protocol only remains competitive with active users.

JUP Airdrop Strategy Adjusted to Limit Selling

Jupiter also reconsidered its upcoming airdrop. The team reduced it from 700 million JUP to 200 million to decrease selling pressure. The updated airdrop will see 175 million tokens distributed to active users and another 25 million allocated to stakers.

Last call for $JUP — 2026 is the final one

Check your eligibility: https://t.co/f9tBw3jbni$JUP slashed the airdrop from 700M → 200M JUP. Fewer tokens = less sell-off = more value.

And there’s 200M extra just for stakers. If weak hands sell, diamond hands score 3x more.… pic.twitter.com/Syvhypx2pm

— Aimee.eth (@aimeehall_eth) January 3, 2026

Moreover, 200 million tokens will remain reserved for long-term stakers. Jupiter intends to lock 300 million tokens to support its JupNet ecosystem. Ecosystem rewards are going to be financed with another 300 million JUP in the long run. No major release will be anticipated any time soon. The final airdrop shall happen on January 30, 2026, with the entry price marked at $0.20.