09.08.2024

Vlad Svitanko

21 min

RELATED

It’s hard to imagine the internet today without the seamless API integrations that power everything from transactions to social media functionalities, creating a user experience we often take for granted. We’re used to a web where a tap instantly opens a payment environment—everything is smooth, hassle-free, and all in one place.

So it’s no surprise that people expect the same, if not a higher, level of convenience with blockchain-integrated solutions.

We all want web3 to succeed. However, crypto solutions have been known for their steep learning curve and challenging onboarding process, with limited use cases—reminiscent of the early, pre-Google days of the web.

It sounds bleak, but we must face this reality head-on if we want to improve on-chain experiences, just as web2 evolved.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG

Actions and Blinks (short for blockchain links) were pioneered by Dialect, a protocol and developer stack focused on enhancing user experience, in collaboration with Solana, a top layer-1 blockchain.

Simply put, their combined implementation offers a unique way to convert any URL into a portal for seamless Solana transactions.

Share this post:

If the Blinks introduction alone don’t excite you, check this out:

The Actions and Blinks technology got a strong head start, thanks to an extensive pre-launch campaign that onboarded top Solana builders to showcase its full potential.

Major Solana wallets and protocols like Phantom, Backpack (self-custodial wallets), Jupiter (decentralized exchange), Tensor (NFT marketplace), Sanctum (liquid staking platform), Meteora (dynamic DeFi liquidity protocols solution), Cubik (community funding platform), and others added support for Blinks from the get-go, giving the community a powerful opportunity to not just read about a cool new feature, but to have a hands-on experience with it in leading products.

Dialect announced that DriP (an artist platform on Solana), Magic Eden (a multichain NFT marketplace), Drift Protocol (a Solana perpetual DEX), Circuit Trading (institutional trading vaults), and Genopets (a F2P, move-to-earn NFT game) were going to integrate the technology. Keep an eye out to see if any of them are already using Blinks, as the tech is spreading like wildfire.

The full list of all on-chain players implementing use cases for Blinks is growing by the hour.

That’s why we’re stoked to cover Solana Actions and Blinks this week.

Read on to learn their game-changing power, unveiled on June 25.

Source: Dialect X Post.

It’s the effortless user experience online we’ve come to expect, now on-chain. Simply brilliant!

Actions and Blinks are set to pave the way for a truly blockchain-integrated internet, drastically improving how we interact with on-chain platforms and blurring the lines between web2 and web3 user experience.

They also significantly fortify web3 safety by limiting interactions to trusted domains.

Solana has consistently led the charge in blockchain innovation, and Blinks, co-developed with Dialect, mark another significant stride in that direction.

Source: OKX Wallet X post.

Before diving deeper into Blinks—the term everyone’s buzzing about and the one we’ll use to describe the entire experience—let’s clarify what each term means, as they’re meant to work hand in hand.

Source: Dialect Actions and Blinks Docs.

Actions are the tools recognizing these special URLs and actually turning them into interactive environments, making the entire web a playground for blockchain experiences.

Actions provide a way to pass blockchain transactions from the website directly to the user.

Blinks are special URLs that can trigger and carry out Solana transactions. These URLs can be shared anywhere online—social media, blogs, apps, websites, you name it.

Blinks are like regular web links, but with a twist. When clicked on, they open as an interactive Solana transaction preview window.

When a Solana Action gets converted into a Blink, it becomes a metadata-rich link. This means it carries all the necessary information to complete the transaction—like using $SOL to buy an item or service directly from your social media feed.
This means you can complete transactions without leaving the page you’re on.

Take Sphere, a blockchain payment infrastructure, as a great example.
You can now sell products or donate to the causes your favorite artists pursue right on X.

Solana Foundation video explaining Blinks: access blockchain transactions on any website now, even in IRL stores.

The rising DeFi wallet enabled Blinks for seamless transactions straight from your X feed.

The OG wallet in the Solana ecosystem did the same.

The prominent DEX (decentralized exchange) on Solana implemented swaps on its platform directly on X.
Doomscroling for another memecoin to ape in? You’re now covered for an instant buy experience.

Even important web3 news outlets integrated them for their subscription payments on X.

Tier-1 crypto exchange OKX has enabled support for Blinks in its proprietary self-custodial wallet.

You can now share links to OKX DEX tokens, NFTs from the OKX marketplace, and DeFi products, and interact with their functionalities directly on X.

Blinks have the potential to disrupt ticketing monopolies and scalpers by moving ticket purchases and transfers on-chain, enabling instant ownership changes with no hidden fees and keeping tickets sealed until redeemed at the venue, which significantly heightens security.

Claiming $SEND tokens—a ‘community token designed to incentivize interactions with and the development of Solana Blinks’—through an airdrop was made much easier with Blinks, as shared by X user @solmaniac_.

It now takes just 3 seconds to fetch your allocation.

Tipping has received a substantial boost with Blinks powering lightning-fast online gratifications.

The X account for $SEND quickly proposed a Blinks-specific SuperApp—a feed that would feature only Blinks to enhance their discoverability.

An X account HZ Music DAO, is leveraging Dialect and Blinks to remove any friction in inviting donations to fund its operations.

To experience Blinks, you first need to enable them in your respective wallet (extension or mobile app), which is super simple:

1. Add one of the supported wallet extensions—Phantom, Backpack, or Solflare—to your browser or install their app.
2. For Phantom, activate Blinks through the ‘Experimental Features’ in the settings.
3. For Backpack, enable the toggle in your Solana preferences (see the video to the right).
4. For Solflare, install the Dialect extension and select Solflare to enable Blinks.

Alternatively, enable Blinks through the Dialect extension for each wallet.

Once activated, Blinks should automatically appear on your X timeline.

Further potential of Blinks is enormous. Sky’s truly the limit here.

Imagine:

Instantly pay with crypto in your favorite shopping app.

Buy your museum admission ticket with crypto by scanning a code.

Chip in for pizza night with a link from a friend.

With plans to support more social media platforms like Reddit, Blinks will turn existing web2 social media into a vibrant traffic pool for the Solana ecosystem.

By enabling user assetization and solving retention issues, Blinks aim to create a positive feedback loop of growing users, ecosystem, and assets.

Dialect has launched the Mobile SDK, bringing Blinks to your phone.

The Blinks Mobile SDK enables developers to create mobile apps that support Blinks, making Solana transactions even more accessible and on the internet. Now on the go, with mobile dominating our screen times in 2024.

This entails:

With one click, you’ll be able to jump from a social media post on X directly to a Blink in your mobile wallet— dramatically speeding up the transaction process.

Devs can build more engaging apps, making it simpler to explore and use dApps and blurring the lines between the former and the latter.

The SDK also paves the way for new social finance apps with integrated Blinks.

Popular NFT KOLs like @wale.moca are speculating whether Blinks could spark a revival in PFP NFT collections and the broader NFT market.

Solana’s NFT marketplace, Tensor, has introduced Blinks that let users share and buy NFTs directly on social media platforms like X.

The idea here is that this and other similar integrations reduce the friction between discovering and purchasing NFTs, making the process more seamless.

By keeping transactions within social media, Blinks could drive broader adoption, allowing newcomers to easily get involved and making it simpler for enthusiasts to engage with NFTs.

While Solana Blinks are currently leading the charge in integrating blockchain transactions with social media and the broader web, players in another part of the smart-contract-capable blockchain landscape, namely in Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible networks like Starknet, are learning and borrowing the idea of Blinks pretty fast.

Starknet has introduced ‘Slinks,’ which are essentially their version of Blinks.

In a similar fashion, they allow users to interact with Starknet apps directly from X.

The difference here is that Starknet’s interactive experiences run inside Twitter Cards, X’s metadata specification solution for displaying rich text, imagery, and video, with Starknet apps opening in tweet inside of them.

Take a look at this tweet by @dimahlebda, Head of Ecosystem at StarkWare, the company that launched Starknet, announcing Slinks and showcasing how they work with a short screen recording video.

Solana Blinks are a revolutionary step in making blockchain a part of our everyday digital lives. By seamlessly integrating on-chain transactions into websites and apps, Blinks are set to transform how we interact with the digital world.

Whether you’re a seasoned crypto enthusiast or just starting, Blinks offer an exciting glimpse into the future of blockchain technology.

Welcome to the new era of internet interaction—welcome to Solana Blinks!

But remember to turn them on in your wallet extension or app!

Our Web3 marketing studio is here to help you fine-tune your vision and unlock its full potential, creating another powerful web2-to-3 bridge.

Let’s put your project in the spotlight and prototype your Actions and Blinks use cases together.

Remember, even the best tech needs a smart growth strategy to gain traction.

Tap Cryptorsy today!