If you've traded on Solana, you've seen the "Jito tip" or "priority fee" setting in your trading tool. You probably adjusted it once, picked a number that felt right, and never thought about it again.
But understanding what Jito does and why MEV matters can save you money, improve your execution, and prevent you from getting silently exploited on your trades. This guide explains it all from the ground up — no prior knowledge needed.
What Is MEV?
MEV stands for Maximal Extractable Value. It refers to the profit that can be made by reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions within a block before it gets finalized on the blockchain.
In simpler terms: someone who controls transaction ordering can extract money from your trades.
Here's a concrete example:
- You submit a swap to buy 1 SOL worth of Token X on Raydium
- A bot sees your pending transaction
- The bot places a buy order for Token X before yours (front-running), pushing the price up
- Your transaction executes at a higher price than expected
- The bot immediately sells Token X after your buy (back-running), profiting from the price difference
This is called a sandwich attack, and it's the most common form of MEV that affects regular traders. The bot literally sandwiches your transaction between their buy and sell, extracting value from the price impact.
How MEV Works on Solana
Solana handles transactions differently from Ethereum. On Ethereum, there's a visible mempool where pending transactions queue up. Bots scan this mempool to find profitable MEV opportunities.
Solana doesn't have a traditional public mempool. Transactions go directly to the current block leader (validator). In theory, this makes MEV harder to extract because transactions aren't publicly visible before inclusion.
In practice, MEV still happens on Solana through several mechanisms:
- Validator-level ordering: The current leader validator decides transaction ordering within their block. Some ordering strategies can favor MEV extraction
- RPC forwarding: When you submit a transaction through an RPC provider, it gets forwarded to the leader. During this forwarding, the transaction can be observed
- Spam-based MEV: Before Jito, bots would spam hundreds of transactions to get ordering advantage, congesting the network
This is where Jito comes in.
What Is Jito?
Jito started as an MEV infrastructure protocol for Solana. It created a structured system for handling transaction priority, replacing the chaotic spam-based approach with an auction-based model.
Jito's core innovation: bundles with tips.
How Jito Bundles Work
Instead of submitting a single transaction and hoping it gets included, Jito allows users and bots to submit bundles — groups of transactions that must be executed together, in order, or not at all.
Each bundle includes a tip — a payment to the validator for including the bundle with priority.
The flow:
- A trader (or bot) creates a transaction bundle
- They attach a Jito tip (paid in SOL to a special tip account)
- The bundle goes to a Jito relayer
- The relayer forwards it to a Jito-enabled validator
- The validator includes the bundle in the block, ordering it based on tip amount (higher tips = higher priority)
- The tip gets distributed: partly to the validator, partly to JitoSOL stakers
This creates a clean market for transaction priority. Instead of spamming the network, participants bid for inclusion. Higher tips = better positioning in the block.
Why This Matters for Regular Traders
You don't need to understand the technical details. What matters is this:
Jito tips help your transactions land faster and protect against some forms of MEV.
When you set a Jito tip on your swap:
- Your transaction gets priority processing by Jito-enabled validators (the majority of Solana validators now run Jito)
- Higher tips mean your transaction is more likely to land in the current block
- For competitive situations (sniping, buying during price pumps), tips are the difference between getting your trade and failing
Jito Tips vs Priority Fees
You'll see both terms in trading tools. They're related but different:
Priority fees (also called "compute unit price") are Solana's native mechanism. You pay extra to the validator via the protocol's built-in priority system. These are denominated in micro-lamports per compute unit.
Jito tips are an additional payment specifically to Jito validators, submitted as a separate transfer within your bundle. These are denominated in SOL (usually small amounts like 0.001-0.01 SOL).
Most trading tools combine both: they set a priority fee AND include a Jito tip for maximum transaction landing probability.
How to Set Jito Tips
Every major Solana trading tool has Jito tip settings:
In Trading Bots and Platforms
- Photon: Settings → Transaction Settings → Jito Tip. Options range from "Low" to "Turbo"
- BullX: Settings → Priority Fee / MEV Protection
- Axiom: Settings → Transaction Speed → includes Jito tip options
- Trojan: Settings menu → Priority fee and Jito tip amounts
- Jupiter: Settings (gear icon) → Transaction Priority → includes dynamic priority fee
Recommended Settings
For normal swaps (not time-sensitive):
- Priority fee: Medium/Auto
- Jito tip: 0.0001-0.001 SOL
- This ensures your transaction lands within a few seconds at minimal cost
For competitive buys (new launches, trending tokens):
- Priority fee: High/Very High
- Jito tip: 0.005-0.05 SOL
- Higher tips increase your chances of getting included in the current block
For sniping (buying at token launch):
- Priority fee: Maximum
- Jito tip: 0.01-0.1+ SOL (depends on competition)
- In highly competitive snipes, tips can be significant. The cost is worth it if the trade is profitable
The golden rule: Only tip more than you're willing to lose. If you're buying $10 worth of a memecoin, a $5 Jito tip doesn't make sense.
Sandwich Attacks on Solana
While Jito creates a structured priority system, sandwich attacks still exist on Solana. Here's how they work specifically on Solana:
- A bot monitors incoming transactions (through RPC observation or validator-level access)
- The bot creates a bundle: [their buy] → [your swap] → [their sell]
- They submit this bundle with a high Jito tip to guarantee ordering
- The validator processes the bundle atomically — their buy raises the price, your swap executes at a worse rate, their sell captures the difference
How to Protect Yourself
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Use MEV-protected RPCs: Some RPC providers route transactions through private channels that bots can't observe. Jupiter has built-in MEV protection
-
Set slippage carefully: Lower slippage tolerance (1-3% for liquid tokens) limits how much value a sandwich can extract. If the sandwich would push your price beyond your slippage limit, your transaction reverts instead of executing at a bad price
-
Use limit orders: Sandwich attacks only work on market orders. Limit orders execute at your specified price or not at all — there's nothing to sandwich
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Split large orders: Instead of swapping 100 SOL at once, split into several smaller swaps. Smaller transactions are less attractive for sandwich bots (less profit to extract)
-
Use trading tools with built-in protection: Most Solana trading platforms now include anti-MEV features. Jupiter's default routing includes MEV protection, and tools like Photon and BullX have protection settings
Jito isn't just MEV infrastructure — it also runs one of Solana's largest liquid staking protocols.
What Is JitoSOL?
When you stake SOL with Jito, you receive JitoSOL — a liquid staking token that represents your staked SOL plus accumulated rewards.
- JitoSOL earns standard Solana staking yields (~7-8% APY)
- Plus a share of Jito MEV tips from validators
- The MEV component adds 1-3% extra APY on top of base staking rewards
This makes JitoSOL one of the highest-yielding liquid staking tokens on Solana.
How to Stake with Jito
- Go to jito.network or use the Jito interface in Phantom
- Connect your wallet
- Enter the amount of SOL to stake
- Receive JitoSOL in your wallet
- JitoSOL appreciates in value over time relative to SOL (as rewards accumulate)
You can use JitoSOL across Solana DeFi — as collateral for borrowing, in liquidity pools, or just hold it for passive yield. When you want to unstake, you can either use the standard unstaking flow (takes a few days) or swap JitoSOL → SOL on Jupiter for instant liquidity.
JitoSOL vs mSOL (Marinade)
Both are quality liquid staking tokens:
- JitoSOL: Higher APY due to MEV tips, backed by Jito's validator network
- mSOL (Marinade): Longer track record, focuses on decentralizing Solana's validator set, slightly lower APY
Many DeFi users hold both for diversification.
JTO Token
Jito also has a governance token, JTO, which was airdropped in December 2023. JTO holders can:
- Vote on protocol governance decisions
- Stake JTO for additional rewards
- Participate in the protocol's future direction
JTO is separate from JitoSOL. You don't need JTO to use Jito's MEV infrastructure or liquid staking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I always need to pay Jito tips?
No. For non-time-sensitive transactions (sending SOL to a friend, staking, claiming rewards), standard priority fees are fine. Jito tips matter most for competitive scenarios: trading, sniping, and anything where transaction speed affects your outcome.
Can I get sandwiched on Jupiter?
Jupiter has built-in MEV protection that routes transactions through protected pathways. While no system is 100% sandwich-proof, Jupiter's protection significantly reduces the risk compared to raw RPC submissions.
Why did my transaction fail even with a high tip?
Tips increase your priority but don't guarantee inclusion. During extreme congestion (thousands of people buying the same token simultaneously), some transactions will still fail. The tip determines your priority relative to other tippers — if thousands of people all tip high, some will still miss out.
Are Jito tips wasted if my transaction fails?
No. Jito tips are only paid if your bundle successfully executes. If the transaction fails or reverts, you don't pay the tip (you still pay the base transaction fee).
How much do Jito validators earn from tips?
Validators receive a share of Jito tips, with the rest going to JitoSOL stakers. The exact split is governed by the protocol. Jito-enabled validators earn significantly more than non-Jito validators, which is why the vast majority of Solana validators now run Jito.
The Bottom Line
MEV is a reality of blockchain trading. On Solana, Jito has turned what was once a chaotic spam-based problem into a structured priority market. As a trader, you benefit from:
- Faster transaction landing through tips
- Some MEV protection through bundle atomicity
- Higher staking yields through JitoSOL
The key takeaway: set your priority fees appropriately for the situation (low for routine transactions, high for competitive trades), use slippage protection, and consider JitoSOL for your staked SOL to capture MEV rewards rather than losing to them.
Learn more about Solana's DeFi ecosystem and find the right tools for your trading strategy at MadeOnSol. Read our Solana transaction fees explainer for more on how fees work.
