Jito, the liquid staking protocol that powers the Solana network, has received a $50 million investment from A16z Crypto, the blockchain investment division of venture finance company Andreessen Horowitz.
According to a story released, the agreement would give a16z an unknown allocation of Jito’s native tokens at a reduced price.
a16z Crypto invests $50M in Jito
The Jito Foundation has “an exceptionally long time horizon,” according to executive director Brian Smith, who said that the funding “will allow the Foundation to work to make Solana the home for internet capital markets well into the next decade.”
In 2022, Jito, a Solana-based liquid staking system, was introduced. Its JitoSOL token allows users to keep liquidity while earning incentives by staking SOL tokens.
Jito Labs is the primary developer and infrastructure supplier of the protocol, while the Jito Foundation is in charge of its governance and token distribution.
Silicon Valley venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is well-known for supporting cutting-edge tech and cryptocurrency firms. Its blockchain-focused subsidiary, a16z Crypto, makes investments in blockchain technology, Web3 infrastructure, and decentralised finance.
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Liquid staking
Jito is a crucial component of the architecture underpinning Solana, one of the most well-known blockchains available, despite the fact that its name doesn’t have much appeal outside of knowledgeable cryptocurrency traders and investors. “We are closely linked to Solana’s development,” Smith stated.
Similar to decentralised cloud computing networks, blockchains use independent computers to conduct transactions and compute data.
These computer servers, or what people in the cryptocurrency industry refer to as “validators,” are frequently required to place a specific quantity of the network’s cryptocurrency in escrow to deter them from fabricating transactions and committing fraud.
The transaction comes after a16z bought $55 million worth of tokens in LayerZero, a cross-chain communications system located in Canada, on April 17. In the same month, the company spearheaded a $25 million investment round in Polygon Labs’ Miden, a blockchain driven by zero-knowledge (ZK) evidence.
Jito’s numbers
DefiLlama data indicates that Jito’s liquid staking protocol now has around $2.8 billion in total value locked (TVL), whereas Marinade, a rival of Solana, has $1.9 billion and Lido, Ethereum’s top liquid staking platform, has $33.9 billion.
In the meantime, the SEC recently confirmed in a landmark statement that some cryptocurrency liquid staking operations are exempt from securities regulation.
This was made public by the SEC Division of Corporation Finance as part of a larger initiative to inform the public on how new crypto activities are subject to federal securities rules.
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