BitGo adds Jupiter validator as SOL staking option for custody clients

BitGo and Jupiter launched the Jupiter x BitGo validator on Oct. 28, letting eligible BitGo institutional clients stake SOL directly from their existing custody accounts. In its announcement, BitGo said clients can delegate SOL to Jupiter's validator without transferring assets to an external staking provider. The coins stay inside BitGo custody while they earn protocol rewards.

Jupiter, the Solana trading and DeFi platform, becomes the fourth named Solana validator partner for BitGo's institutional clients, joining SOL Strategies, Helius and HashKey Cloud, Unchained reported. BitGo already offered SOL staking before this launch.

How the arrangement works

Under the setup, BitGo keeps the keys and Jupiter does the validating. Solana staking works by delegation: a holder points SOL at a validator, the machine that votes on and produces blocks, and shares in the rewards that validator earns. The validator never gains the right to withdraw the delegated coins. Solana Compass described the division as BitGo keeping custody control while Jupiter operates the validator infrastructure.

BitGo named the custodian as BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., which it describes as an OCC-regulated national trust bank, and says the SOL sits in its institutional cold storage. "Jupiter is an independent third party that operates the validator; BitGo does not control validator performance," the post said. Unstaking is subject to Solana's standard deactivation period.

The announcement lists risks in plain terms: staking rewards vary based on network conditions, validator performance and other factors, and are not guaranteed. It also cites unstaking delays under Solana's deactivation rules, validator downtime, protocol changes including possible slashing penalties, and falls in the value of SOL. BitGo said clients keep access to its insurance program, with coverage of up to $250 million subject to the policy's terms, conditions, limits and exclusions, and that the insurance is not a guarantee of any asset's value or of staking rewards.

Abel Seow, BitGo's managing director and head of APAC sales, said in the announcement that staking needs to fit into how institutions already manage SOL holdings and approval processes. Jupiter COO Kash Dhanda described running a validator as how the company invests in the base layer beneath its swaps, perps and lending, and said the BitGo tie-up brings institutional SOL into it on terms those institutions already trust.

The validator's size and fees

Jupiter's main validator had about 9.72 million SOL of active stake as of Oct. 28, roughly 2.24% of the network, ranking fifth of 661 validators by stake, according to Solana Compass data. Unchained put the stake at about 9.72 million SOL worth roughly $993 million at a SOL price of $102.13, citing on-chain data tracked by StakeWiz.

Jupiter keeps 5% of the inflation rewards its delegators earn and takes nothing from Jito MEV tips, per the Compass data and Jupiter's staking documentation. The report estimated its yield at 4.72%, against a stake-weighted network average of 3.62% by StakeWiz's figures. Helius, which ranks second by stake, held about 16.66 million SOL on Oct. 28 and charges no commission, with StakeWiz putting its yield at 5.01%.

Stake on Jupiter's validator has drifted down over the past 50 epochs, from about 11.74 million SOL at epoch 1021 to about 9.73 million by epoch 1070, a decline of about 17%, the analytics site said. Stake has been flat near 9.73 million SOL since epoch 1061.

Neither company has disclosed what fees apply to the Jupiter x BitGo option, Unchained noted. The announcement also does not name a vote account, so it is not stated whether BitGo clients delegate to Jupiter's existing main validator or a separate one set up for the partnership, Solana Compass reported. Jupiter's institutional staking page already said native delegation works from any custodian that supports Solana staking.

BitGo's quarterly filing for the period ended June 30 put Solana at 3.9% of its $65.2 billion in assets on platform and 17% of its $11.9 billion in staked assets, per the same report. BitGo added SOL Strategies as a validator partner in April 2025, Helius that July, and HashKey Cloud on Oct. 6.