Site icon Kindalame.com

Jupiter on Solana — Why Ultra V2’s “default” fee mechanics are ripping off users

scrabble tiles spelling solana cryptocurrency

Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

Short version: Solana’s on-chain transaction cost is tiny (a few thousand lamports — fractions of a cent). Jupiter Ultra V2 layers additional components on top of that: built-in swap fees, configurable integrator/referral fees, and priority/tip mechanisms (often routed through services like Jito or MEV-protect). Those added line-items — when combined and paid out of the swap (so they effectively reduce the amount a user receives) — can make a single token swap cost orders of magnitude more than the blockchain fee. Critics argue this is opaque and effectively extracts value from ordinary traders; proponents say it’s needed to guarantee execution and fund validators. Below I walk through the mechanics, evidence, and practical fixes.


How Solana fees actually work


What Jupiter Ultra V2 adds on top of network fees


Why critics say this is a problem

  1. Large share of on-chain fees are now tips routed through MEV/Jito clients. Independent writeups and community commentary show Jito-style tips have become a material portion of fees on Solana; one analysis noted that Jito-generated tips accounted for a large fraction of fees in recent months. When aggregators route or default to such tips, ordinary traders bear that cost.
  2. Opaque user experience: Many users do not realize that “gasless” or “best execution” flows can mean the aggregator is paying validator tips out of their trade. That reduces the tokens they receive rather than presenting an explicit extra charge at checkout. Community threads and Q&A show users are often surprised by higher-than-expected effective fees.
  3. Percentage swap fees dwarf network fees for small trades. For tiny swaps, a 0.05%–0.1% swap fee or a 50–255 bps integrator fee is practically the only fee that matters — it can dwarf the protocol-level lamport fee by orders of magnitude. Developers’ docs make the fee bands explicit.
  4. Users pay for execution guarantees indirectly. Aggregators argue tips/referral fees improve success rates and speed, but when those costs are charged invisibly (deducted from swap output) the trade-off is hidden from users. That creates a perception (and sometimes reality) of value extraction.

Example: where a $0.15-like effective cost can arise

The network base fee is tiny (0.000005 SOL per signature). However, an aggregator may: (1) apply a platform/integrator fee of 0.05%–0.1% of trade size, (2) include a referral fee (50–255 bps) routed to integrators, and (3) add priority/tip amounts to ensure quick execution (Jito tips or priority fees). For a small $10 swap, a 0.5% total fee is $0.05; higher integrator fees or tips pushed into the swap can easily reach or exceed $0.15 in effective cost depending on SOL price and configured tip amounts. The important point: the blockchain’s cost is essentially irrelevant to these user-facing extractions — they’re business/operational fees and tips layered by the aggregator.

Note: I did not find a Jupiter-published single line claiming a fixed $0.15 default tip per swap — but Jupiter’s docs show the mechanisms that allow default tipping and configurable referral fees, and community reports show users observing non-trivial costs when Ultra’s defaults are applied.


Is this a “scam”?


Practical recommendations (for users, Jupiter, and the ecosystem)

For users:

For Jupiter / aggregators:

For the ecosystem:


Conclusion

Solana’s low base fees remain true at the protocol level; however, the effective cost to users trading via aggregators like Jupiter Ultra V2 can be materially higher because of platform swap fees, integrator/referral cuts, and optional priority tips routed to validators or services like Jito. Whether that is a “scam” depends on disclosure and intent — but the current combination of opaque defaults and automatic tips is a clear UX and fairness problem that the ecosystem should address.


“Someone’s gotta explain this to me, I feel like an idiot” (Reddit, r/solana) — user complains: “in addition to 2% fees … you will pay priority and tips on every transaction.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/solana/comments/1ldn29i/someones_gotta_explain_this_to_me_i_feel_like_an/

“Ultra Swap Saved Fees” (Reddit, r/jupiterexchange) — users discussing how much they’ve “saved” via Ultra.
https://www.reddit.com/r/jupiterexchange/comments/1m811en/ultra_swap_saved_fees/

“Understanding the transaction fees on a Jupiter swap” (Reddit, r/solana) — breakdown of base lamport fees vs declared compute/priority fees.
https://www.reddit.com/r/solana/comments/1bjh2g5/understanding_the_transaction_fees_on_a_jupiter/

“Fees” (Reddit, r/jupiterexchange) — a user claims insane fee deductions: buying $500 SOL turns into $450–$460.
https://www.reddit.com/r/jupiterexchange/comments/1iahbvr/fees/

“Jupiter fees + slippage” (Reddit, r/solana) — comment that using “fast/turbo/ultra” modes increases fees (up to a cap) for speed.
https://www.reddit.com/r/solana/comments/1gg3hhf/jupiter_fees_slippage/

“Tipping via Jito Bundles is live” (Twitter/X) — Jupiter’s official handle tweeting that tipping via Jito bundles is now live (admission to the scam)
https://x.com/JupiterExchange/status/1784234743711859049

Exit mobile version