Bear markets hit hard—users, speculators, and now even protocol revenues. As seen in the chart below, Jupiter’s daily fee income, which was around $500,000 when buybacks began, has now dropped to $200,000. If the market continues its downtrend, we may see this number fall even further.
Unfortunately, this level of income is no longer sufficient to combat the inflation Jupiter is facing in 2025. ASR rewards are being burned through in a single day, rendering them ineffective. This leads us to a crucial point: we can no longer afford to keep funding Group X-type initiatives—we must begin addressing critical protocol-level issues.
Today, I will focus on one of the most pressing: Jupiter’s declining fee revenues.
1. Revenue Sources: Perps and Ultra Mode
As most of you know, Jupiter currently generates the majority of its income through perpetual contracts (perps) and Ultra Mode fees. However, Ultra Mode’s revenue remains very limited, mainly due to the continued availability of the manual mode, which allows users to bypass fees entirely.
Major DEXs like Uniswap and Sushiswap have normalized a 0.25% fee structure, recognizing that such fees are necessary to sustain operational costs. Yet Jupiter still offers a free alternative, which—while user-friendly—is economically unsustainable in the long run.
We may need to consider removing the manual mode entirely or at least severely limiting it. Even if we do, Jupiter will still maintain lower fees than nearly all competitors, preserving its advantage while improving sustainability.
2. Free Swap API Usage: A Structural Exploit
The second—and perhaps more severe—issue with Ultra Mode involves free Swap API access.
Currently, roughly 60% of Jupiter’s total volume comes from arbitrage bots. These bots use the Swap API to execute millions of dollars in trades without paying a single cent in fees. And what does Jupiter gain from this? Absolutely nothing.
This isn’t just a financial concern. These bots also degrade the user experience—clogging the system, inflating gas usage, and crowding out real users. For years, they’ve exploited the protocol like parasites, profiting while contributing nothing back.
It’s time for that to stop.
Swap API access should no longer be free. Like Ultra Mode, it should include a reasonable fee structure, both to ensure fairness and to align incentives with the long-term health of the protocol.
3. Time for Seriousness
JUP price is struggling. Inflation is high. ASR has become a band-aid that barely lasts a day. In such a scenario, what should be on the agenda of protocol leadership? Voting on the background color of Jupiter Mobile—or ensuring the protocol’s long-term viability?
Caring about the community doesn’t mean distracting them with cosmetic votes. It means making the hard decisions that will allow them to continue benefiting from a thriving ecosystem.
Conclusion
Jupiter is still one of the most powerful protocols in the ecosystem—but that status can’t be maintained while hemorrhaging revenue and ignoring critical structural issues.
We’re now at a crossroads. The question is simple:
- Free usage?
- Or a sustainable protocol economy?
Ultimately, it’s the governance token holders who will decide. But one thing is clear: it’s time to talk seriously.