Big DeFi Exchange Expands Its Reach with Moonshot Acquisition

Jupiter, the decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator built on Solana, has expanded its influence by taking control of a majority stake in Moonshot.

This acquisition, announced on January 25 by the platform’s founder, Meow, marks a significant step for the project, which has seen rapid growth, largely due to its integration with Apple Pay for memecoin purchases. Meow expressed excitement about the acquisition, praising the talented team behind Moonshot for their vision and commitment.

The timing of the acquisition aligns with Moonshot’s impressive performance in the market. Following the January 18 launch of the TRUMP memecoin, Moonshot witnessed an explosive rise in activity. Once sitting at 309th in the U.S. App Store’s finance category, the app quickly climbed to the top, benefiting from a massive $400 million trading surge. By January 20, Moonshot had gained over 1 million daily active users, further cementing its success.

Meanwhile, Jupiter made another strategic acquisition, this time of SonarWatch, a portfolio-tracking tool. This move will see SonarWatch’s functionality integrated into Jupiter’s existing platform, while the standalone service will be phased out. In a bid to fully integrate SonarWatch under its brand, Jupiter will also be replacing the SonarWatch token (SONAR) with its own native token, JUP.

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Jupiter has also rolled out a series of platform updates, including the introduction of Ultra Mode, designed to automate critical functions like slippage estimation and transaction handling. Another anticipated addition is Jupiter Shield, a security tool aimed at enhancing user protection. With Manual Mode receiving significant updates, users now have more control over their trades, including new options for routing and broadcasting, as well as improved features for perpetuals.

Alexander Stefanov