Jupiter (JUP) Surges Following Massive Airdrop for Solana Users

DEX platform Jupiter has reportedly conducted the largest airdrop in Solana's history, resulting in the JUP token's price exceeding expectations and rising to approximately $0.75.

After the airdrop and listing on a centralized exchange (CEX) last night (January 31), the JUP token, initially trading around $0.4, surged to approximately $0.75, far surpassing many people's expectations.

Currently, JUP is fluctuating around $0.65, providing a fully diluted market capitalization of $6.5 billion.

15-minute chart of JUP/USDT on Binance as of 10:40 AM, February 1, 2024

Due to the overwhelming traffic within the first 30 minutes of the claim period, the Solana network experienced congestion and was unable to process transactions. Jupiter developers were even concerned that the airdrop might crash both their system and Solana's network.

Meanwhile, the founder, Meow, referred to "Jupuary" (January) as a trial month to ensure the worst-case scenario would not occur.

Within about an hour of the launch, over 20% of the 1 billion JUP tokens allocated for this airdrop were claimed by users, according to Flipside data.

The JUP launch surprised many users who did not actively participate on Solana but still received a significant airdrop. With a minimum airdrop of 200 JUP, users could gain approximately $130 if sold.

As previously announced, the Solana DEX will allocate 4 billion JUP, equivalent to 40% of the total token supply, as rewards for users through airdrops/retroactive in four phases.

In the first phase, Jupiter distributed 1 billion JUP to 955,000 wallets that had transacted at least $1,000 on the DEX before the snapshot deadline of November 2, 2023, with the following allocation:

• 2% of tokens for all eligible wallets;
• 7% based on the user's cumulative volume;
• 1% for Jupiter's Discord and Twitter community members.

The massive airdrop generated significant buzz in the community, and Jupiter itself achieved record trading volumes of $16.6 billion in December 2023.

Trading volume on Jupiter over the months. Source: Jupiter Station (February 1, 2024)