In early January 2026, Jupiter co-founder Siong Ong questioned the effectiveness of the protocol’s $70M+ JUP buyback in 2025, noting minimal price impact despite strong fee revenue, per crypto. news. JUP traded at $0.20–$0.22, down 89% from its peak, as the circulating supply grew 150% since launch, per. Monthly unlocks of 53M JUP through June 2026 created persistent sell pressure, overwhelming buybacks that offset only a fraction of new tokens, per. Ong proposed redirecting funds to growth incentives for users, sparking community debate.
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko weighed in, arguing that buybacks in high-emission models fail because unlocks are priced at current spot value, not future post-buyback expectations. He suggested protocols stash cash for larger future repurchases or implement longer lockups via staking, forcing sellers to value tokens against a post-buyback environment. This aligns with traditional finance balance sheet strategies, encouraging long-term holding. X posts from @toly emphasize strategic capital deployment over short-term buffers.
Jupiter reduced its 2026 airdrop from 700M to 200M JUP, easing supply pressure, per. As Solana’s top DEX aggregator with $8.6B DeFi TVL, Jupiter remains active, but JUP’s price reflects emission challenges, per. Community sentiment is mixed: some favor buybacks for alignment, others support incentives for growth, per. Solana (SOL) at $184.50 and BTC at $113,234 are stable, per CoinMarketCap, but JUP’s case highlights tokenomics pitfalls.
JUP could stabilize if unlocks slow, with potential $0.50 targets by mid-2026, per Techopedia, but $0.15 support is key, per TradingView. Investors should monitor Jupiter’s fee revenue on DefiLlama and SOL’s TVL. Dollar-cost average into SOL with stop-losses below $170, or diversify into USDC or ETH ($4,070), per. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. Yakovenko’s advice underscores the need for long-term token strategies in DeFi.
