Jupiter, the third-largest DeFi protocol on Solana, has made headlines by acquiring a majority stake in Moonshot. This app lets users buy memecoins using Apple Pay. The financial details of the deal haven’t been shared yet.
On January 25, Meow, the pseudonymous founder of Jupiter, took to X to announce the news. He said, “For the first announcement of Catstanbul, I'm thrilled to share that Jupiter Exchange has acquired a majority stake in Moonshot. The team is among the smartest, most driven group of people I have ever met.”
Moonshot gained a lot of attention, especially after the launch of Donald Trump’s Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on January 18. On January 1, Moonshot was sitting at 309th place in the US App Store's finance category. But just a day after the TRUMP memecoin launched, it shot to the top spot.
During the launch of the TRUMP memecoin, Moonshot saw nearly $400 million in trading volume. By January 20, it had reached 1 million daily active users. Launched in July 2024, Moonshot operates as a self-custodial app powered by TurnkeyHQ.
In addition to acquiring Moonshot, Jupiter has also picked up SonarWatch, a portfolio-tracking tool. This tool will be integrated into Jupiter’s platform. As part of the acquisition, SonarWatch will no longer operate independently. Its features will migrate to Jupiter’s portfolio tracker website.
SonarWatch’s native token, SONAR, will be discontinued. Holders can exchange their tokens for Jupiter’s native token, JUP, as SonarWatch fully integrates under the Jupiter brand.
On January 25, Jupiter rolled out a series of updates to its platform. One of the highlights is "Ultra Mode," which automates key features like real-time slippage estimation and dynamic priority fees. A new security feature called Jupiter Shield will also launch soon.
Jupiter has upgraded its Manual Mode with Routing and Broadcast options. This gives users more control over their trades. Plus, new features like limit orders and one-click trading have been added to the perpetual side. These updates are currently in beta.
As of now, Jupiter hasn’t disclosed the financial terms of its Moonshot acquisition. Cointelegraph reached out for more details but didn’t get a response before publication.
In light of these announcements, JUP has surged by 10% in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.93.