Solana-powered decentralized exchange Jupiter distributed $700 million worth of JUP tokens to early adopters recently. However, the project faces controversy as accusations arise about the team capitalizing on the hype by cashing out.
The dispute revolves around LFG Launchpad, a platform by Solana-based Jupiter facilitating the JUP token sale. The Jupiter team initiated the launch pool with 250 million JUP tokens, constituting 18.5% of the current 1.35 billion in circulation and 2.5% of the total 10 billion JUP supply.
With JUP currently trading at approximately $0.61, the Jupiter team could potentially gain $100 million in USDC and 50 million JUP, valued at an additional $33 million, when the sale concludes on Feb. 6.
Concerns have been raised about the team withdrawing liquidity post-sale and transferring the proceeds to a team treasury, leading some investors to question if this equates to paying the developers nine figures for free tokens.
Bighead, a pseudonymous Solana-focused trader, acknowledges the need for better communication but emphasizes that the information was public. The team also faced criticism for paying LFG a launchpad fee of 100 million JUP, with founder Meow clarifying that 75% would go to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for Jupiter, and 25% to the project’s team.
The launchpad allows users to trade USDC for JUP within a predetermined price curve between $0.40 and $0.69. The pool structure depends on the token’s price, with adjustments as per a provided chart by Jupiter.
Founder Meow addresses concerns, stating that there won’t be additional sales after the seven-day period, emphasizing that the team didn’t raise funds from private investors. Users can sell their airdropped JUP into the LFG pool during this period.
Despite the criticism, Jupiter anticipates three more rounds of airdrops, and the 20% of the supply reserved for team members will start vesting in February 2025. While facing scrutiny, JUP remains a highly discussed digital asset in the crypto community.
