Jito Labs hires crypto legal veteran Rebecca Rettig as first chief legal officer

Jito, the staking and validation protocol essentially at the heart of the Solana network, has hired its first chief legal officer. Rebecca Rettig, a crypto legal veteran with stints at Aave and Polygon, will join the firm on Jan. 20, according to a statement on Thursday. 

Rettig will help the organization navigate Jito through the changing regulatory landscape as various countries and regions continue to advance industry regulation like the EU’s MiCA guidelines and Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority licenses, as well as any policy changes in the U.S. under the incoming pro-crypto Trump Administration. 

“The Jito Labs team has already accomplished an enormous amount in a short period of time, and I look forward to working with this stellar team as it iterates and innovates on new, high-performing products,” Rettig said in a statement. 

Rapid growth for Jito and Solana

Jito, which operates a block engine, validator client, and staking protocol, accounts for 94% of the network's total stake and generated $674 million in “tips” in 2024 compared to $3.52 million in 2023. Solana, meanwhile, saw last year’s daily volumes jump to $10 billion, generating $27.6 million in daily fees during peak periods.

According to a recent blog post by CEO Lucas Bruder, Jito is currently maintained by a team of 14 people. Rettig will be tasked with building out Jito Lab’s legal, compliance and policy functions.  

Before entering the crypto legal sphere, Rettig worked at law firms Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. She also served on the NYDFS’ Virtual Currency Advisory Group and a CFTC digital asset subcommittee. 

Rettig, a Columbia Law graduate, has published widely on the issue of compliance in crypto, including a recent  paper on how anti-money laundering laws affect DeFi protocols.

In 2022, Jito raised  $10 million in Series A funding from investors, including Multicoin Capital, Solana Ventures and Framework Ventures.