How to Buy Jito

There’s nothing better than free money. In a sense, this is what an airdrop is. Airdrops are a popular way to foster engagement and hype for crypto projects. Specifically, creators of projects will give people free tokens for being early adopters, participating in the community, referrals or at random. This process creates an incentive for people to get excited about projects, as there is a monetary reward. 

Jito is a crypto project that will soon be offering its own airdrop. Here’s everything you need to know about Jito, as well as how to get in on the airdrop. 

What is Jito (JTO)?

Jito primarily operates as a way to enhance staking and validating on the Solana (SOL) network. Staking is a way to process transactions on the blockchain. It works by having some users lock up with tokens on the chain in exchange for the ability to validate transactions and earn a reward for doing so. This process ultimately works because the chain holds the tokens as collateral; if the validator tries to scam or exploit the chain, they lose their tokens. 

However, with traditional blockchains, there can be incentives for stakers that ultimately hurt the entire chain. Stakers can spam transactions back and forth to generate fees that they can keep, which crowds the chain and makes for slower transaction fees.

Jito came up with a unique solution to this issue. Instead of allowing validators to operate on their own and create value for themselves at the expense of the chain, Jito creates a large pool of SOL tokens, which it stakes and validates using its own network. It will convert your SOL into JitoSOL, which represents your SOL on the network. It passes your SOL into its network of 230 validators and passes back the rewards to you.

JTO is the native token for the project and allows users to vote on pressing issues. Some of these issues involve fees, how the staking process operates and operations. 

Brief History of Jito (JTO)

Jito Labs was founded in 2021 and received Series A funding in August 2022 from Multicoin Capital and Framework Ventures, along with several other crypto-VCs. 

In March 2023,  it launched its staking platform. Since then, it has grown quickly, amassing over 6.5 million SOL tokens (~$400 million). It also offers an APY nearing 7%. 

The JTO token itself has not launched, but the JitoSOL token (JITOSOL) has been trading closely with Solana since its inception. 

Jito (JTO) Token Airdrop Eligibility

To be eligible for the JTO token airdrop, you have to have been staking with the platform when the snapshot was taken on Nov. 25, 2023. If you had JITOSOL staked at the time, they would have assigned you points. These points correspond with a certain amount of JTO tokens. 

In addition, other users of the platform, such as validators, traders and MEV searchers are also eligible to receive tokens from the airdrop.

If you are unsure whether or not you are eligible, you can search your wallet address on Jito’s website.

How to Claim a Previous Jito (JITO) Token Airdrop

Once the airdrop is live, you can claim your tokens on Jito’s website. To do so, there will likely be a button to claim your tokens. You can click this, and it will prompt you to connect your wallet. From there, Jito will send the tokens that you have earned to the connected wallet. Note that Jito operates on the Solana chain, so you will likely need a Phantom wallet to participate. 

Tokens will be available for 18 months. However, if they are not claimed in this timeframe, then the funds will be transferred to the project’s treasury. 

Of the tokens that are distributed, 80% (80,000,000 JTO) will go to stakers who have earned at least 100 points, 15% (15,000,000 JTO) to validators and 5% (5,000,000 JTO) to searchers. 

Within these segments, there are different tiers based on engagement. For example, those with 100 top 968 points will receive 4,941 tokens, while users who earned points in excess of 7,447,592 will earn more than 100,000 tokens. The same goes for validators and searchers, although these groups have far fewer users. 

How to Buy Jito (JTO)

If you want to learn how to buy JTO, look no further than this simple checklist. At Benzinga, you can gain access to all the data you need to make wise decisions, and these are some of Benzinga’s favorite places to buy JTO and gain access to this unique airdrop.

Step 1: Open an Online Account

Step 2: Buy a Wallet (Optional)

Now that you have access to cryptocurrencies, you need a wallet that will store them securely. These are some of Benzinga’s favorite crypto wallets that span a range from hardware that you carry on your person to software that you can condense into an app on your phone or desktop.

Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S

Best Software Wallet: Coinbase Wallet

Step 3: Make Your Purchase

Make your purchase and keep a close eye on your holdings so that you can make the most of your portfolio given the strategy you’ve chosen. Plus, you must apply specific and unique information to your portfolio, especially where tokens like JTO are concerned.

Bonus section: Keep an eye on the number of users and amount of SOL that Jito has. These numbers can have an influence on the price of JTO. 

Trade, Sell or Convert your JTO

It’s up to you when to trade, sell or convert your JTO. Remember, every investment strategy is different, and you should apply your own principles to your portfolio and only spend money you are prepared to lose.

Current Crypto Prices

Crypto markets have been heating up for the past several weeks. With spot Bitcoin ETFs ramping up in conversations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as hopes for a more favorable macro environment, crypto prices have gone up considerably in recent weeks.

While some view this as the start of the next bull market, others see it as a bull trap that will be followed by a sharp pullback. Either way, this is certainly an interesting time to be involved in crypto. 

Is Jito (JITO) a Good Investment?

Like most airdrops of this size, JTO has received significant interest from traders and receivers of the airdrop. Bulls believe that Jito is a real value-add for the Solana chain and see it as a powerful way to enhance an already strong Solana blockchain. Conversely, some users may instantly sell their JTO tokens for whatever they can get and drive the price down. If this is the case, JTO may not be a good short-term investment. Either way, JTO is almost certainly going to experience extreme volatility after the airdrop. Make sure to take this, as well as your own investment experience and risk tolerance, into account before making an investment decision.