Jupiter, the Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol and trading platform, has announced the lau…

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Jupiter, the Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol and trading platform, has announced the launch of JupUSD, a new dollar-pegged stablecoin issued natively on the Solana blockchain. Developed in a strategic partnership with Ethena Labs, this asset represents a significant expansion of the platform’s native financial infrastructure. The reserve structure for JupUSD is specifically designed for stability and liquidity, with 90% of its backing initially held in USDtb. USDtb is a licensed stablecoin that is itself collateralized by shares of BUIDL, which is the tokenized money-market fund operated by BlackRock. This institutional-grade backing is complemented by the remaining 10% of reserves, which are held in USDC to serve as a primary liquidity buffer.

The technical implementation of JupUSD utilizes the SPL token standard, Solana’s native token format, ensuring seamless integration across various Solana-based applications and services. To maintain security and transparency, the reserves for the stablecoin are custodied by Porto through Anchorage Digital. These reserves are fully verifiable on-chain, providing a level of transparency for users and institutional participants. The collaboration with Ethena Labs is central to the project, as Ethena will oversee reserve operations, including custody coordination and the rebalancing between the various backing assets.

Context

The launch of JupUSD occurs within a broader stablecoin market that is currently valued at approximately $308 billion. While the sector remains heavily dominated by established players like Tether’s USDt and Circle’s USDC, the year 2025 has marked the emergence of a distinct new wave of application-specific stablecoins. These assets are typically tied to individual platforms or specific ecosystems rather than being designed for general-purpose use across the entire market. This trend reflects a shift toward vertically integrated financial services where protocols issue their own settlement assets to optimize their internal operations.

Several major entities have followed this path throughout the year. In August, MetaMask, the self-custodial wallet developed by Consensys, announced its own US dollar-denominated stablecoin for use within its wallet and the Linea DeFi ecosystem. This was followed in September by Hyperliquid, a perpetual futures exchange, which launched USDH as a native stablecoin for platform collateral and settlement. The momentum continued into late 2025, with the Swedish firm Klarna launching a dollar-pegged stablecoin on the Tempo blockchain in November. Most recently, on Dec. 18, SoFi Technologies introduced SoFiUSD, a fully reserved stablecoin designed to facilitate low-cost settlements for banks and fintech enterprises.

Impact

The introduction of JupUSD has already coincided with positive market movement for Jupiter’s native ecosystem token, JUP, which has risen approximately 18% over the past seven days. Beyond token price, the integration of JupUSD is expected to significantly alter the functional landscape of the Jupiter platform. Within Jupiter’s lending products, the deposit of JupUSD allows users to mint a yield-bearing version of the token. This allows participants to continue accruing returns while simultaneously using the asset in other platform features, such as setting limit orders or engaging in dollar-cost averaging strategies.

Jupiter has also outlined plans to integrate the new stablecoin into its perpetuals platform. This transition will involve gradually moving existing collateral and liquidity pool balances from USDC into JupUSD. For institutional users and market makers, the protocol facilitates on-chain minting and redemption against USDC through single-transaction settlements on Solana. By providing a native asset that is integrated directly into its suite of trading tools, Jupiter aims to create a more cohesive user experience while utilizing the high-speed settlement capabilities of the Solana network to manage large-scale financial operations and liquidity more efficiently.

Outlook

Looking ahead, the operational management of JupUSD will be a collaborative effort led by Ethena Labs. As the developer of the Ethena protocol and issuer of USDe and USDtb, Ethena Labs will be responsible for managing reserve operations. This includes high-level custody coordination and the rebalancing of assets using segregated on-chain addresses. The use of transparent capacity signals is intended to provide the market with clear indicators regarding the stablecoin’s backing and operational health. This partnership suggests a future where specialized infrastructure providers like Ethena Labs support the backend operations of various platform-specific stablecoins.

As the market for application-specific stablecoins continues to grow, JupUSD joins a growing list of assets—including MetaMask’s stablecoin and SoFi Technologies’ SoFiUSD—that seek to redefine how liquidity is managed within specific digital ecosystems. The success of JupUSD will likely depend on its ability to maintain its dollar peg while being utilized as a core collateral asset within the Solana DeFi space. The trend established in 2025 indicates that more fintech and DeFi platforms may move away from relying solely on general-purpose stablecoins in favor of native solutions that offer more direct control over reserves, yields, and platform-specific settlement processes.