ParaFi Capital Backs Jupiter with $35M Strategic Investment
03.02.2026
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Jupiter said it has secured a $35 million strategic investment from ParaFi Capital, marking the first time the Solana-based onchain trading and liquidity aggregation protocol has taken outside capital after years of bootstrapped, profitable growth.
ParaFi Capital makes $35M investment in Solana-based Jupiter
Jupiter just landed its FIRST outside capital ever — a $35M strategic investment from ParaFi Capital. This Solana-based trading/liquidity aggregator has been bootstrapping for years, profitable the whole time. Now they're taking VC money, but on their own terms.
The deal structure is actually interesting: token purchases at MARKET PRICES (no discount), extended lockups, and settled entirely in Jupiter's own JupUSD stablecoin. They even included warrants for ParaFi to buy more tokens at higher prices — signaling long-term alignment, not just a quick flip.
Jupiter's been on a tear: over $1 TRILLION in trading volume in the past year, plus expansions into perpetuals, lending, stablecoins, and even an onchain prediction market with Kalshi. Their JupUSD stablecoin (built with Ethena Labs) launched in January.
Market reaction? JUP token up ~9% in 24 hours, trading around $0.19. Not bad for a Monday.
Decentralized protocols attract VC attention
This isn't an isolated move — VCs are diving into decentralized protocols through token deals. Check the receipts:
- • October 2025: a16z Crypto drops $50M into Solana liquid staking protocol Jito via token deal with discount
- • January 2026: Babylon (Bitcoin-native staking/lending) raises $15M from a16z Crypto via BABY token sale
- • September 2025: Bio Protocol (decentralized science platform) raises $6.9M from Maelstrom Fund & Animoca Brands
- • 2025: Humanity Protocol (decentralized identity) raises $20M from Pantera Capital & Jump Crypto at $1.1B valuation
The pattern is clear: VCs want exposure to protocols that actually have users and revenue, not just whitepapers. Token-based deals with lockups are becoming the new equity rounds for DeFi.
#DeFi#Solana#Venture Capital#Investments#Token Deals
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