JTO, Jito’s native token, rose 3% intraday on October 16, 2025 following a16z’s $50 million investment. The $50 million investment by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division has acquired locked JTO tokens, demonstrating the institution’s strong confidence in Jito’s liquid staking and MEV solutions. The funding will fuel the expansion of Jito’s block assembly marketplace and nodes.
Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division has announced a $50 million investment in Jito, acquiring a sizable allocation of the protocol’s native JTO token.
Jito, a key infrastructure layer of the Solana blockchain, provides liquid staking and maximum extractable value (MEV) extraction.
$50 million invested in a16z staking protocol
The $50 million injection into Jito by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) marks the company’s largest single commitment to its Solana staking protocol.
Ultimately, we value strategic token purchases over traditional stocks. In exchange for the investment, a16z received uncirculated JTO tokens and locked them for a long period of time.
Mr. Brian Smith, Executive Director of the Jito Foundation. highlighted the novelty of this transaction:
If you’re willing to accept a long-term adjustment if you can’t sell for a while, there’s traditionally a small discount associated with that.
This structure, particularly 16z’s previous investments in $55 million LayerZero and $70 million EigenLayer, prioritizes ecosystem growth over a quick turnaround.
Capital to accelerate Jito’s roadmap, including expansion of BAM nodes.
📣🚨News: @a16zcrypto has made a $50 million strategic investment in Jito!
With BAM going live on mainnet, Jito gaining momentum across DeFi, and institutional adoption continuing to accelerate through the JitoSol ETF, things are just getting started.
Accelerate the ground. pic.twitter.com/pKGhLyvkdI
— Jito (@jito_sol) October 16, 2025
Strategically, we align a16z with Solana’s high-throughput ethos, mitigating the front-line risks that Jito’s MEV tools plague other chains.
The injection comes amidst a16z’s aggressive cryptocurrency pivot following $4.5 billion in new capital raised in early 2025.
The deal could usher in a staking renaissance, democratizing yield while strengthening blockchain security as institutional capital flows into the sector.
Land price outlook
Jito is currently trading at $1.16, up nearly 3%, and as high as $1.19 on major exchanges.
The rally came amidst a16z investment news and reflected traders’ optimism towards the token as institutional validation takes hold. Traders were also encouraged by the rise in Solana’s price over the past few weeks.
Analysts associate this recovery with the timing of the investment, which coincides with positive indicators for the Solana network. This includes a 15% increase in daily active users and an increase in decentralized finance volume.
Regarding JTO’s technical outlook, the price on the daily chart is close to oversold territory with a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 35.
Nevertheless, despite an indecisive market, Jito is poised to move above $1 after bulls recover from the $0.33 low seen on October 10, 2025.
Besides the technical point of view, regulatory changes that may impact liquidity staking tokens remain a risk.
However, recent SEC exemptions and broader market weakness point to a bullish long-term outlook.
A rally near $1.20 suggests bulls may focus on the $1.50 to $1.70 range, with key targets above $1.85 and $2.56.
If market conditions align, buyers will target an all-time high above the $5.61 recorded in December 2023.
