Solana’s biggest decentralized trading platform, Jupiter Exchange, has taken over SolanaFM, a leading Solana blockchain explorer.
The parties have described the move as a way to speed up development in their data and infrastructure capabilities in order to improve their functionalities for the Solana community.
Optimism About the Acquisition
In an X post published on September 20, the crypto exchange, which boasts over $300 billion in trading volume, expressed excitement about the acquisition, stating the move would improve its data and system capabilities tenfold.
In its own announcement of the takeover, the SolanaFM team stated that the platform will continue operating as usual, while helping amplify Jupiter’s potential.
The explorer was founded in 2021 by three Singapore Management University (SMU) students and has since provided in-depth insights into transaction histories, smart contracts, and token information on the Solana blockchain.
It has also received significant backing, including $4.5 million raised in a seed funding round in 2022. SBI Group’s Digital Asset Opportunity Fund led the round, which also saw participation from Zee Prime, Spartan Capital, and K3 Ventures, among others.
The platform also benefited from an undisclosed seed funding round during its inception, which included contributions from Ethereum explorer Etherscan and crypto wallet provider Coinhako.
Jupiter Announces Key Updates
Elsewhere, at Breakpoint, the annual Solana conference, Jupiter unveiled several major updates, including the launch of Metropolis API, a platform designed to streamline development on Solana with a new token, price, and swap APIs.
Other notable updates include the Jupiter RFQ (Request for Quote), which is expected to improve liquidity by allowing market makers to provide pricing directly to the routing engine.
The exchange also revealed its next-generation perpetuals trading platform, offering anticipated features such as limit orders, gasless transactions, and an advanced Dove oracle system.
In tandem with these developments, Jupiter also plans to release Jupiter Mobile, an app designed to onboard new people to Solana. It will allow users to swap tokens using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or credit cards with zero platform fees.
The positive news comes on the back of Jupiter’s recent warning to Solana users about a malicious chrome extension draining their wallets.
Called “Bull Checker,” the offending extension allegedly targeted Reddit users, especially those who were members of the various Solana-themed subreddits on the social platform. In its alert, Jupiter claimed that Bull Checker had the ability to add instructions to a normal crypto transaction that allowed it to send funds to a different wallet.
