Solana’s largest decentralized exchange aggregator, Jupiter, has decided to halt all community voting through next year and keep its governance Treasury sealed until 2027, citing community burnout and a need to prioritize building new products.

The move temporarily disables one of the main utilities for Jupiter’s native token, JUP, which powers governance proposals and decisions within the Jupiter DAO.

Voting activities will be on hold until at least the end of 2025, according to a statement shared by team member Kash Dhanda.

He wrote:

“Recently, one thing has become clear: the current DAO structure isn’t working as intended. We hear the complaints. We see the breakdown in trust. We feel the perpetual FUD cycle that grows with every vote.”

The statement added that the team intends to shift energy away from frequent governance votes and toward strengthening the project’s product suite and market position.

The governance pause comes as Jupiter’s DEX remains a major player on Solana, with more than $2.2 billion locked on the platform and daily fees averaging $1.6 million. It handles upwards of 80,000 token swaps each day, serving over 18,000 daily active traders.

However, Jupiter’s aggregator has lost momentum in recent months, with user traffic dropping by up to 60% and competitors like PumpSwap dominating the meme coin niche, now accounting for a majority of that trading volume on Solana.

Treasury closed until 2027

Under the new plan, the DAO’s fund, known internally as the Litterbox Trustm will remain inaccessible for new spending or budget proposals for the next two years.

Revenue from staking services such as jupSOL will continue to feed the Treasury, but fresh JUP minting for workgroups and governance rewards has been suspended.

Regular staking will still be available to token holders, with about 50 million JUP reserved for ongoing staking incentives. Aside from an upcoming 700 million token distribution, part of the final phase of the Jupuary airdrop, no additional JUP emissions are planned.

The team expects the break in governance rewards to help reduce selling pressure on the token, which has recently hovered near annual lows of around $0.40.

A redesigned governance structure is set to be introduced in 2026, aiming to address past disputes and streamline decision-making before the Treasury fully reopens the following year.

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Jupiter Exchange, a leading decentralized trading aggregator on Solana, announced plans to allocate 50% of its protocol fees toward repurchasing and locking JUP tokens for three years, starting Feb. 17.

The initiative, which aims to reduce circulating supply and increase long-term stability, is part of Jupiter’s broader strategy to enhance platform sustainability and drive deeper engagement within the Solana ecosystem.

Shift from token burns to locked buybacks

The exchange will roll out a dedicated dashboard next week, offering transparency into its buyback operations.

The dashboard will provide real-time tracking of repurchased JUP tokens and their subsequent locking process, allowing community members to monitor the initiative’s impact.

Jupiter’s latest buyback effort follows a similar initiative in January, when the exchange used 50% of protocol fees to buy back and burn JUP tokens, contributing to a 60% increase in the token’s market value.

However, the shift from burning to locking suggests a long-term commitment to supply management rather than short-term price action. By locking the repurchased tokens for three years, Jupiter aims to align incentives with sustained platform growth while maintaining liquidity for active trading.

Expanding Jupiter’s presence

The buyback initiative follows key discussions at the recent Catbedsault Conference, where Jupiter executives detailed upcoming platform enhancements and hinted at potential acquisitions to strengthen its role within the Solana ecosystem.

The exchange has positioned itself as a major player in Solana’s DeFi space, facilitating efficient token swaps and liquidity aggregation for traders and developers.

Jupiter’s decision to introduce a structured buyback program mirrors broader trends in the crypto industry, where exchanges and protocols increasingly use supply control mechanisms to stabilize token value and incentivize user participation.

Major platforms have employed similar strategies, including Binance Smart Chain’s BNB burns and MakerDAO’s buyback-and-burn approach for MKR governance tokens.

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