Andreessen Horowitz’s blockchain arm (a16z Crypto) revealed on Thursday that it has made a $50 million private token purchase in Jito, the Solana‐native liquid staking and MEV infrastructure project. This isn’t an equity deal, as a16z has secured an allocation of Jito’s native JTO tokens, likely with lockups and discount incentives aligned for long-term support.
The Foundation plans to use this investment to propel the development of Jito Network technology and strengthen its community. It aims to boost scalability, performance, and economic impact across Solana. By doing so, it solidifies its role as the backbone of internet capital markets.
“This investment validates our commitment to building the technology, partnerships, and policy foundations that bring on-chain finance into the mainstream,” said Brian Smith, President of Jito Foundation. Whereas, Ali Yahya, General Partner at a16z crypto, said, “Jito is catalyzing growth for the entire Solana ecosystem through its pace of delivery and BAM’s measurable impact on network efficiency.”
Jito launched its Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) on Solana in September, changing how blocks are built on the network. BAM adds more transparency, privacy, and flexibility. It helps validators and builders earn more, customize apps more easily, and connect better with other tools on-chain. BAM is the most advanced system of its kind on Solana, and Jito’s plugin setup lets developers keep innovating and finding new ways to create value.
How are Jito and Solana connected?
Launched in 2022, Jito is a protocol for liquid staking on Solana. Users stake SOL and receive JitoSOL, a tradable derivative that continues to accrue rewards. eyond standard staking, Jito integrates MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) capture via its Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM), helping validators and builders coordinate order execution more efficiently.
The Jito Foundation oversees governance and strategy, while Jito Labs handles development and infrastructure. With over $2.8–$3.2 billion in TVL, Jito is among the leading staking hubs on Solana.
a16z’s broader crypto playbook
This investment adds to a16z Crypto’s growing inventory of protocol-level bets. Earlier in 2025, the firm led a $55 million token purchase in LayerZero, a cross-chain messaging protocol. It also backed EigenLayer with roughly $70 million, betting on re-staking and modular Ethereum infrastructure.
By supporting Jito, a16z doubles down on staking + MEV infrastructure, a layer that could power next-gen DeFi products and institutional access to on-chain yield. The move signals confidence in Solana’s maturity and open finance roadmap.