Jupiter DAO has halted voting for the rest of the 12 months following controversy over staff members utilizing their outsized voting energy to affect outcomes
The Jupiter decentralized trade (DEX) has paused governance voting by way of the tip of the 12 months, citing a “perpetual FUD cycle that grows with every vote.”
“The current DAO structure isn’t working as intended. We hear the complaints. We see the breakdown in trust… Instead of the DAO, holders, and team working in cohesion to push the product, platform and community forward, we are stuck in a negative feedback loop,” mentioned Kash Dhanda, “cat-herder” of the decentralized autonomous group (DAO) that governs Jupiter.
Pointing to new merchandise like Jupiter Lend and the brand new Jupiter Cell onboarding new customers, Dhanda mentioned, “We must be laser-focused on growth.”
The newest FUD, that means worry, uncertainty and doubt, stems from issues over the Jupiter growth staff’s use of their massive token allocations for voting on governance proposals.
It has been alleged that their sizable voting energy is getting used to unfairly affect votes, thereby undermining the decentralization of the DAO that governs Jupiter.
“I’m not against [the] team having allocation, they’ve worked hard all these years and [built Jupiter] from scratch, but the problem is their stake is comparatively great in terms of influencing the DAO,” mentioned pseudonymous DAO participant BuddyChaddi within the Jupiter governance discussion board on June 6.
The Jupiter staff was allotted 20% of the ten billion JUP tokens.
The Solana-based DEX has a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, down 37% from a month-to-month excessive of $1.9 billion on Might 27.
Taking a Pause
The pause in DAO voting will give the staff, the neighborhood, token holders, and contributors time to get aligned, Dhanda mentioned.
“In 2026, we will return to governance with a fresh approach that unifies, rather than divides,” he added. “The focus will be on creating a more acceptable way of leveraging capital to grow the Jupiverse to draw in talent, ensure accountability, and move the space forward.”
There will even be a pause in JUP spending on new working teams, Dhanda mentioned, noting that present ones will proceed as deliberate.
The Group Reserve will stay untouched till DAO voting resumes, with the Jupiter staff funding any neighborhood progress tasks from its personal operational treasury.
Energetic staking rewards of fifty million JUP per quarter will proceed and be prolonged by way of the fourth quarter, though no new JUP emissions will happen, Dhanda mentioned
“We believe that the gains from this change – renewed product focus, speed of execution on community growth, and a fresh approach to the DAO – will be massive,” he mentioned.
In January, Jupiter distributed a $550 million Jupuary airdrop.
Controversial Vote
BuddyChaddi identified that one staff member solid greater than 4.5% of all votes on a latest proposal, greater than anybody else.
In response, Jupiter co-founder “Meow” mentioned within the governance discussion board on June 6 that they and co-founder Siong Ong don’t and won’t use their tokens for voting, even after they vest. A 3rd co-founder will proceed staking and voting, however stopped vesting from Might.
