Blockchain
Exploring the JTO Token and Its Role in the Jito Network
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In Brief
Discover the JTO Token's role in the Jito Network, a Solana-based protocol. Learn about its governance features, participation in decision-making, and integration with Trust Wallet.
The JTO token is the governance token of the Jito Network, a recently launched Solana-based liquid staking protocol. As a governance token, JTO enables community members in the Jito Network to participate in the decision-making and direction of the Jito Network.
The Jito Network is a new liquid staking protocol that combines liquid staking and miner extractable value (MEV) for better optimization. On the Solana blockchain, it’s also the second-largest liquid staking token (LST) in terms of total value locked (TVL).
Governance tokens, like JTO, are essential in decentralized networks because they aid in preserving decentralization by giving token holders the right to participate in the decision-making process of a specific protocol or blockchain network.
In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the JTO governance token and its role in the Jito Network. Read on to learn more.
Before You Dive In
Before you dive into learning about the Jito Network, remember that Trust Wallet allows you to safely store and manage 10M+ crypto assets including JTO. Trust Wallet can be downloaded as a mobile app, or you can install the Trust Wallet Extension for your desktop browser. For this guide, we'll focus on creating a new wallet using the Trust Wallet mobile app.
Let’s look at how to create a wallet and deposit your JTO tokens.
Get the most updated version of Trust Wallet
Below you’ll see the steps to create a new wallet, but you could just as easily import an existing Web3 wallet to Trust Wallet, if that’s your preference.
To create a new wallet:
Install, then open Trust Wallet
Choose “Create a new wallet”.
Choose your backup option, or you can optionally postpone the backup process by choosing “Skip”.
Start using Trust Wallet.
How to Deposit JTO to Your Trust Wallet
Select “Receive” from the home screen
Search for “JTO” or “Jito” and select it.
From here you have two options. You can either
Copy your deposit address and use that on your exchange account or other wallet to send funds to.
Use the “Deposit from exchange” option to deposit crypto seamlessly from your exchange account, if this option is supported.
Understanding the JTO Token's Functionality
A governance token is a type of cryptocurrency that gives its holders the right to propose and vote on key decisions about the direction of a blockchain network or decentralized application (dApp).
Governance tokens play a critical role in decentralized protocols as they help decentralize decision-making by giving the community a say in how the project is operated. Community members can use their tokens to influence the features and direction of a blockchain protocol directly.
As a result, governance token holders can use their governance tokens to:
Vote on various fees linked to different network transactions.
Vote on revisions in developer funds and reward distribution.
Enforce changes related to the project’s user interface.
Vote on the potential modification to a project’s underlying code.
While most decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens tend to be governance tokens, they aren’t solely used for voting. People holding governance tokens can use them to lend, stake, or yield farming.
As the JTO token is a governance token, it serves various purposes beyond voting on key decisions affecting the Jito Network. For example, the JTO token can be used to set and modify fees for the JitoSOL staking pool.
JitoSOL is the flagship product of the Jito Network.
Users can stake their Solana (SOL) tokens in Jito’s staking pools and, in exchange, receive the network’s token, JitoSOL, which can be traded or used as collateral. JitoSOL is essentially a depository receipt for any staked Solana tokens.
The JTO token can also be used to update delegation strategies in StakeNet.
StakeNet is a platform utilized by JitoSOL for its operations in a permissionless manner. As the native token of the Jito Network, the JTO token is also used to contribute to improving and developing the Jito product portfolio and manage the fees generated from JitoSOL and DAO treasury.
JTO Token Distribution and Airdrop
The Jito token has a limited supply capped at 1 billion tokens and a current circulating supply of 115 million tokens, according to data on CoinMarketCap at the time of writing.
JTO tokens will be used to organize how the Jito Network is managed.
According to the Jito Foundation, there will only be 115 million tokens in circulation to start. 34% of the JTO tokens will be reserved for community growth, while another 25% will be used to develop the Jito ecosystem. Another 24.5% of the tokens have been earmarked for core contributors and 16% for investors, while another 10% - which translates to 100 million tokens - will be airdropped to Jito community members.
The JTO token airdrop commenced on December 7, 2023, and it is expected to witness the distribution of 100 million JTO tokens via an airdrop. The airdrop has been designed to acknowledge and reward early Jito adopters and community members who played a crucial role in bootstrapping the network.
To ensure the airdrop is fair to community members, Jito established eligibility and allocation criteria by creating a points system known as the ‘Jito Points Program.’ The program was built to reward participation and incentivize individuals who actively participated on the Jito platform. 80% of the 100 million tokens have been allocated to Jito Points Program participants.
Participants who actively engaged on Jito’s platform from January 1, 2023, to November 25, 2023, earned points based on their level of engagement with the protocol. These points directly correspond to the airdrop allocation.
Besides the Jito Points Program participants, Jito also allocated 10% of the remaining airdrop tokens to its liquidity providers, 5% to early staked SOL holders, and another 5% has been reserved for future community initiatives.
All eligible Jito token airdrop recipients will have up to 18 months from the Token Generation Date, which is December 7, 2023, in this case, to claim their JTO tokens. Any unallocated JTO tokens will go into the Jito treasury, managed by JTP holders but controlled by Jito’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
Conclusion
The JTO token is a new addition to the world of Web3, but its launch has already caused quite a stir among DeFi enthusiasts.
Besides offering its holders the opportunity to be part of key decisions geared towards shaping the Jito Network, the JTO token also serves other purposes. These include setting and modifying fees for the JitoSOL staking pool, updating delegation strategies in StakeNet, contributing to improving and developing the Jito product portfolio, and managing the fees generated from JitoSOL and DAO treasury.
Despite the various roles the JTO token plays, its most important one is enhancing community-driven governance in the Jito Network. This ensures that the network and its ecosystem remain decentralized.
Being a new token, JTO has the potential to impact the broader crypto ecosystem by attracting new users to its platform, as it offers more than just digital currency. Instead, it’s a token that allows democratic governance and community empowerment. Its full impact on the wider Web3 ecosystem, however, remains to be seen. You can securely store and manage your JTO tokens using Trust Wallet. Download the wallet here.
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Note: Any cited numbers, figures, or illustrations are reported at the time of writing, and are subject to change.