Introduction

Welcome to the first roundup of 2026! 

January kicked off the year with great momentum as BAM (Block Assembly Marketplace) adoption continues accelerating, crossing 20% network stake weight! The team also announced the launch of the 21Shares JitoSOL ETP (ticker: JSOL). Making it the first European ETP exclusively backed by Solana’s leading LST, JitoSOL. January set the stage for what's shaping up to be the year of BAM. Let’s dive in.

January Highlights

• 21Shares JitoSOL ETP Launch
• IBRL Explorer Goes Live
• 2nd JTO Tokenholder Relations Call
• BAM Crosses 88M SOL in Total Stake
• Governance Proposals
• In The Media

21Shares JitoSOL ETP

The First European ETP Backed by JitoSOL

On January 29, 2026, the Jito Foundation announced the launch of the 21Shares JitoSOL ETP, ticker: JSOL. Making it the first European exchange-traded product backed entirely by Solana's leading LST: JitoSOL. The ETP provides access to both liquid staking rewards and MEV rewards in a single, accessible package. 

One ticker. Two reward streams.

Read the press release here.

The IBRL Explorer

On January 5, 2026 the IBRL Explorer was launched, finally shining a light into the world of Solana block-building. While the team was analyzing the data, two harmful practices came to the surface: 

1. Late Packing: the practice of concentrating transactions at the end of the slot 
2. Slot Lagging: modifying proof of history to extend slot times beyond 360ms

Late Packing is harmful to the network because:

• Delays state propagation - network learns about state changes in a burst rather than continuously
• Increases execution variance - makes time-sensitive flows like liquidations and auctions less reliable
• Undermines Turbine - Solana's state propagation protocol is optimized for continuous streaming

Slot Lagging is harmful to the network because:

• Slows state transitions
• Increases end-to-end latency across the network
• Decreases determinism and application reliability

Worth noting: “not all low scores indicate intentional behavior, some reflect infrastructure challenges that individual validators cannot remedy”. For example, the team discovered unintentional late packing in Asia data centers (Tokyo, Singapore) likely caused by submarine cable failures.

To learn more, read the full report on the IBRL blog here.

IBRL Explorer Updates

Since the launch of the IBRL Explorer, the team has cooked up a few improvements to the dashboard:

1. Added Vote Scoring Methodology - showing how vote transactions are scored and weighted in a validator's overall IBRL score.
2. Added Slot Duration - tracking the time (in milliseconds) it takes a validator to produce a block.
3. Added Average Slot Time - the network-wide average of how long blocks take to produce.

2nd Tokenholder Relations Call

On January 22, 2026, the 2nd JTO Tokenholder Relations Call was held via X livestream. Head of Foundation, Brian Smith, and co-founder and CEO of Jito Labs, Lucas Bruder, provided updates on Jito Network developments, JTO tokenomics, JitoSOL ETPs and the roadmap for 2026.

Getting JitoSOL into US ETF products is just the start. Every major financial market in the world should have an easy, local way for institutional investors to gain SOL exposure through JitoSOL.

Watch the full livestream here.

BAM

BAM Crosses 88M SOL in Total Stake

BAM TVL has been surging the last few weeks of January, hitting 88 million SOL in total stake, representing >20% of total network stake weight across 273 validators. This comes just two weeks after reaching the 60M SOL milestone on January 13th, but the job is far from over. 

Refer to the BAM blog here for all of the latest development updates.

Governance Updates

JIP-31: BAM Early Adopter Subsidy Programme

On January 28, 2026, claims for the BAM Early Adopter Subsidy Programme went live. Eligible validators running BAM can now access subsidy rewards. Claimable every epoch. See the Jito Developers Discord for more information here.

JIP-33: A Jito X Coinbase Collaboration

On January 26, 2026, JIP-33 was posted to the Jito Network forum, outlining a collaboration between Jito and Coinbase. According to analysis from Kairos Research, this proposal demonstrates Jito's commitment to prioritizing BAM growth over short-term revenue.

JIP-34: Liquidity and Incentive Budget

Also announced on January 26, 2026, JIP-34 addresses liquidity and incentive budget allocations for the ecosystem moving forward.

Both proposals are currently open for community discussion on the Jito Network forum here.

SKR Token Launch

On January 22, 2026, Solana Mobile's native token SKR officially launched. The Jito Foundation, named as one of the Solana Mobile Guardian, announced it will be staking its full SKR allocation to help support platform growth. 

Learn more about SKR from Solana Mobile here.

In The Media

Jito on Capital Hill

The Jito executive team spent the beginning of 2026 in Washington DC discussing the future of crypto in America, meeting with 3 Senators, 6 House Representatives, and crypto leadership at the Treasury and IRS.

Rebecca Rettig on Bloomberg Markets

On January 15, 2026, Jito Labs COO & CLO Rebecca Rettig appeared on a Bloomberg Markets segment to discuss Solana, crypto markets, and the regulatory landscape.

Lucas Bruder on Crypto Banter

JET Europa Film