Major governance reform described as “fresh start” by the exchange’s leadership.
In response to months of community frustration and declining token performance, Jupiter Exchange has announced sweeping structural changes to its $JUP ecosystem. The reforms aim to restore confidence in the Jupiter DAO by simplifying governance, increasing token holders’ flexibility, and initiating a decisive vote to burn a significant portion of the circulating supply.
Jupiter’s leadership team, led by COO Kash Dhanda and CTO Siong Ong, described the changes as a “fresh start” for the DAO. The decision follows months of pressure from holders who questioned why strong revenue growth had not translated into token performance.
In the months leading up to the announcement, $JUP underperformed broader market peers despite Jupiter ranking among the highest revenue-generating protocols on Solana. This disconnect sparked heated debates over the DAO’s spending priorities, token issuance, and communication strategy. The leadership acknowledged that sentiment had reached a low point, with governance fatigue and inflation concerns combining to erode confidence in $JUP. The new reforms aim to address those concerns directly by tightening focus and signaling renewed accountability.
At the center of the overhaul is a plan to scale back the Jupiter DAO’s operational scope. Instead of frequent votes on minor issues and budgeting for Work Groups, the DAO will now focus solely on high-impact proposals that directly affect tokenomics and treasury management.
Kash Dhanda, in a detailed announcement post on X, acknowledged that the DAO’s prior structure had become burdensome for both the community and the team. Frequent governance votes, lengthy discussions, and budgeting debates distracted from Jupiter’s broader product mission and strained token holder engagement.
According to Dhanda, the new governance model will prioritize simplicity and focus. “The DAO should be laser-focused on extremely high-leverage actions,” he wrote, emphasizing that future votes will revolve around critical matters such as revenue allocation, supply control, and long-term token strategy. All existing Work Groups will be disbanded under the new structure.
In a move widely praised by community members, Jupiter will also reduce the $JUP unstaking window from 30 days to 7. The previous lock-up period discouraged many potential stakers, particularly institutional participants, from engaging in governance or staking activities.
Dhanda explained that the new structure aims to balance flexibility and alignment. By maintaining a short lock-up, the protocol can still prevent opportunistic voting behavior while giving holders the agility they need. The change is expected to take effect within the coming weeks.
Community sentiment has been largely positive. One holder described the update as “the single biggest decision ever made in the Jupiverse,” while others credited the Jupiter team for listening to constructive feedback.
Another staker noted that “seven days is perfect” and could encourage higher participation in governance.
The next significant milestone for the restructured DAO will be a community vote on whether to burn the 121 million $JUP tokens currently held in the Litterbox Trust. The trust, which receives 50% of Jupiter’s protocol revenues to fund buybacks, holds roughly 3.8% of the token’s circulating supply.
Many holders have argued that the accumulation of buyback tokens creates uncertainty and adds unnecessary inflationary pressure. Burning these tokens, proponents say, could improve tokenomics and signal renewed commitment to long-term sustainability.
Alongside the governance overhaul, Jupiter’s ecosystem continues to expand. The protocol recently announced that $JUP holders can now play over 60 different games through a new integration with Open Game Protocol. The partnership introduces a “play-to-earn” model where users can stake $JUP or earn a new gamecoin, $GJUP, by participating in Jupiter Mini-Games.
Additionally, liquidity platform Meteora confirmed that $JUP stakers will receive allocations in its $MET token generation event. Through the novel “Liquidity Distributor NFT” mechanism, eligible stakers will receive position NFTs that provide access to liquidity farming opportunities and community rewards.
Institutional access to $JUP has also grown. On September 30, 21Shares launched the Jupiter ETP (AJUP) in Europe, offering regulated exposure to the asset through traditional financial markets.
The move has been viewed as a step toward legitimizing Jupiter’s token economy and expanding its investor base.
The announcement marks a pivotal moment for Jupiter as it seeks to rebuild confidence in both its DAO and its token. Many other crypto projects have faced similar challenges when token emissions significantly outpaced buybacks, leading to inflation concerns and weak price performance. In the volatile world of digital assets, holders often care most about upward price movement, which amplifies backlash when token value stagnates.
Jupiter’s reforms come against this backdrop of market frustration and community skepticism. It remains to be seen whether these new measures can reverse sentiment, but unless $JUP shows consistent price improvement, confidence among holders is likely to stay subdued.
