$0L.Dras

Jupiter's controversy - context matters Jupiter is among the highest-earning crypto startups—not just collecting fees, but truly generating revenue—and it’s putting those profits to work. The Solana-based unicorn (valued around $5 billion) recently announced that 50% of its earnings will go toward buying back its $JUP tokens – with the repurchased tokens locked up for 3 years. Why should you care? This creates a structural big for the asset. The other half of Jupiter’s earnings is being reinvested into R&D, fueling further innovation. In a dramatic show of faith, Jupiter’s founder, Meow, is even locking up his personal $JUP holdings for another five years – 280 million $JUP pledged not to be touched until 2030 and in return receiving a bonus. This reminds me a lot of what Elon did with his 2018 Tesla comp package. More on that here xitter.cf/trevor_flipper/status/… Misunderstanding the Compensation Plan Despite Jupiter’s unicorn status and strong fundamentals - currently 4th highest revenue generating crypto startup in the world - public sentiment (emphasis on public not actual vote data which is positive) around its team compensation has been extremely negative. Some community members balk at the scale of the proposed team token rewards – roughly 4% of total supply divided among 65 new employees. To skeptics and the majority of people who just read the headline, this sounded like lavish overpayment. However, context matters. In Silicon Valley, it’s routine for top-tier engineers at $1B+ startups (ie Unicorns) to receive 0.1%–0.5% equity – worth roughly $1–$5 million in value. By comparison, Jupiter’s 4% allocation for 65 people averages to about 0.06% of the company each – a level that could undervalue the very talent driving one of the worlds most successful crypto startups. In fact, Jupiter’s founder has clarified that only those with “founder-level” impact or outstanding technical ability earn large $JUP grants. Far from tossing tokens around freely, the team’s token incentives are reserved for exceptional contributors – and if any of them “do not create more value than they receive,” they’re out. This is the type of alignment and ownership you want from a founder and is frankly one we have not seen much of in crypto. Ownership = Motivation. It’s understandable why the hefty-sounding team allocation raised eyebrows at first glance. But when you consider standard startup practices and Jupiter’s long-term approach, the logic becomes clear: great companies are built by great people, and those people deserve a meaningful stake in the outcome. Jupiter is generating real earnings, aligning incentives, and aggressively reinvesting—yet it's being scrutinized for rewarding the talent that built it. The irony? Jupiter might be the most mispriced crypto startup in the world.