Jupiter Debates Halting $JUP Buybacks After $70M Spend in 2025

Jupiter's treasury is running hot. The decentralized exchange is now questioning whether to pull the plug on its aggressive token buyback program after burning through a staggering $70 million in 2025 alone.

The Buyback Burn

That $70 million didn't just vanish into the ether—it was methodically used to purchase $JUP tokens off the open market. The goal? To reduce circulating supply and theoretically boost the token's value by creating artificial scarcity. It's a classic play from the corporate share repurchase handbook, now dressed in DeFi's disruptive clothing.

A Strategy Under the Microscope

Internal debates are heating up. Proponents argue the buybacks signal strong financial health and commitment to long-term holders. Critics counter that the capital could be better deployed—funding new protocol development, supercharging liquidity incentives, or building a war chest for the next market downturn. After all, $70 million buys a lot of innovation, or at least a very comfortable cushion.

The Cynical Take

Let's be real—it's the ultimate confidence trick. A project spends its own treasury money to buy its own token, hoping others will follow suit and drive the price up. It works until the music stops and everyone realizes the fundamental value hasn't changed. Just ask any traditional CFO who's used buybacks to juice their stock price before cashing out their options.

What's Next for JUP?

The decision now sits with Jupiter's decentralized governance. Continue the buyback blitz and double down on the scarcity narrative? Or pivot the capital toward growth and utility? The community's vote will reveal what it values more: short-term price support or long-term ecosystem expansion. One thing's certain—in crypto, even $70 million can disappear in the blink of an eye.

Buybacks Fail to Offset Rising Token Supply

Jupiter has made a commitment of half of its protocol revenue to buybacks. The acquired tokens are locked over a 3-year period. The plan failed to defeat high token issuance due to planned unlocks. The continuing supply did not create a significant price movement regardless of the big spending.

Ong informed the community that the buyback structure might not fulfill its objective. He recommended that the same money should be used to lure more traders to the platform. He affirmed that growth-oriented incentives would empower Jupiter in the Solana ecosystem.

He had also mentioned Helium as another example. The CEO of Helium, Amir Haleem, recently halted its buybacks when it realized the same failure to impact the market. The initiative diverted the money towards acquisition of subscribers, as well as enhancement of network utilization. Ong explained that the case revealed that not all buyback programs can affect prices when the supply patterns prevail on the demand.

an update on HNT buybacks: the market doesn’t seem to care about projects buying their tokens back off the market, so we are going to stop wasting our money under the current conditions

Helium + Mobile generated $3.4M in October alone and I’d rather we use that money to grow the…

Jupiter Community Split Over Ending the Buyback Program

The suggestion to terminate buybacks received varied responses on social media. The program was defended by some of the users as a long-term value tool. They claimed that the model correlates the revenue of Jupiter and the performance of the token. Others cautioned against halting buybacks on the grounds that it WOULD undermine holder confidence.

One of the users claimed that buybacks served the purpose of establishing the identity of JUP. The user argued that taking them off might expose the token to volatility on the market. Ong responded by stating that he had no intentions of harming the project. He also remarked that JUP constitutes 99% of his net worth.

Community members proposed alternative incentive models. Suggestions were staking rewards in SOL or in USDC. Ong dismissed these ideas, as they would not boost activity on the platform. According to him, it should be more about user growth and competitiveness.

Jupiter is one of the most active exchanges in Solana. It has registered approximately 1.48 million active wallets in the last month. The trading volume went down to $77.56 million. The platform is also planning Q4 staking rewards and a January 2026 airdrop of up to 700 million tokens.