What Are Solana Blinks And Actions? Blockchain Interactions Simplified

What Are Solana Actions and Blinks?

Solana Actions lets developers build apps where users can do things like buy NFTs or vote on proposals without leaving the app. Blockchain Links (Blinks) turn these actions into shareable URLs, so anyone can click a link to execute a transaction, making Solana accessible from anywhere.

Key Takeaways

• Solana Actions and Blinks simplify blockchain interactions, making NFT trades, payments, and DAO voting seamless within familiar platforms like social media.

• Introduced on June 25, 2024, Actions and Blinks come with SDKs for easy integration into dApps, websites, and Chrome extensions.

• From token swaps and fundraising to staking and gaming, these tools cover diverse activities within the Solana ecosystem.

• Users can interact with decentralized services using only shareable links and Solana wallets, eliminating the need for additional apps or platforms.

Blinks and Actions combined can simplify the user experience, increase user adoption, and transform blockchain transactions, NFT trades, voting, tipping, and other interactions in the Solana ecosystem.

In Web3Auth's 2023 report which looked at the biggest barriers to web3 adoption, users listed the learning curve for blockchain technology (24%) and the lack of user-friendly interfaces (24%) as some of these challenges.

The launch of Solana Blinks and Actions on June 25, 2024, is expected to help greatly in removing the technical complexities of interacting with crypto platforms. The simplicity of these protocols will also offer users ease of use when interacting with Solana-supported platforms to access a wide range of services.

Today, we connect Solana to the entire internet.

Vote, Donate, Mint, Swap, Pay — use Solana, everywhere. pic.twitter.com/XjoBF0uO2a

— Solana (@solana) June 25, 2024

Jon Wong, the head of Ecosystem Engineering at the Solana Foundation, describes the development of Blinks as emerging from the idea of using easily shareable links, such as publicly accessible URLs, to offer extended use cases beyond just payments, such as the delivery of digital assets.

In this article, we'll explore Solana Actions and Blinks, their working, developer integration, benefits, and real-world use cases. 

Introduction to Solana Actions and Blockchain Links (Blinks)

Blockchain links (Blinks) are essentially an implementation of Solana Actions. Let’s dive deeper into each.

Solana Actions

Actions are specification-compliant APIs designed to generate transactions on the Solana blockchain, simplifying the user's transaction journey.

For instance, Actions allows to preview, sign, and send transactions in various contexts such as widgets, QR codes, buttons, or websites, making it easier for crypto users to interact and connect Solana blockchain activities. 

Solana Actions make it easy for developers to seamlessly integrate Solana's functionalities into their platforms or dApps. This functionality allows users to perform blockchain transactions directly within their familiar environment, eliminating the need to switch to external platforms or applications.

For example, with the help of Actions, users can request a crypto payment through text messages, buy their favorite NFTs via social media platforms, or cast their governance votes on certain community proposals through chats.

Solana Blinks

Solana blockchain links, Blinks, are client applications integrated with Actions to provide simple, shareable URL links for users. These links, embedded with on-chain data, allow users to execute blockchain transactions using the link itself.

Blinks can be easily integrated with popular Solana non-custodial wallets like Solflare, Phantom, or Backpack for secure transactions. This feature allows Solana-based activities to be executed directly from social media platforms, chat rooms, or websites without leaving for other applications.

Creators can attach Solana Blinks to their online posts to collect funds for charity activities, or users can directly use the Blinks from official social media handles to buy newly introduced crypto tokens or NFTs.

How Actions Work With Blinks

The operational mechanism of Actions and Blinks allows users to perform activities on the Solana blockchain while staying on the current platform. It uses developer stacks built by Dialect, a Solana-powered protocol that aims to offer the best user experience.

Actions and Blinks work based on a simple yet powerful operational principle. The Chrome extension, capable of detecting Blinks from popular platforms such as X, helps users who have added their wallet Chrome extension with supported Solana wallets can engage in activities like purchasing digital assets, token swaps, managing NFT collections, and interacting with dApps.

The simplified working process of Action using Blinks can be summed up in 8 steps: 

1. User initiates an Action: First, the user scans a valid QR code or clicks a button to begin their interaction with an Action.

2. Fetches information: The Action client, such as a social media platform or an application, sends a request to the Action provider to get the required metadata details about available Actions.

3. Receives response: The Action provider sends back the requested metadata and available Actions back to the Action client.

4. User chooses an Action: The user checks the available options and selects an option for the Action to perform.

5. Initiates next request: The Action client makes a 'POST' request with the wallet pub key from the provider, which is what the user needs to sign.

6. Receives transaction details: Action provider provides custom serialized signable transactions as the response to the request. 

7. User verifies and signs: Upon the receipt of the Solana Actions request transactions, the user signs the transaction using their wallet.

8. Transaction sent to blockchain: Finally, the signed transaction is sent to the blockchain for final confirmation.

For example, users can add Dialect Blinks' Chrome extension to their browser to streamline crypto activities on X using Solana wallets like Phantom, Backpack, or Solflare. This quick-action feature can be used to buy memecoins and NFTs, participate in decentralized prediction markets, and more.

How To Create Actions And Integrate Blinks

Developers can use the Solana Actions software development kit (SDK) to create Solana Actions with the popular open-source web development framework NextJS. Solana's documentation and YouTube tutorials provide detailed step-by-step guides and examples to help developers get started with Actions from scratch.

After creating Actions, Dialect's Blinks Client SDK allows developers to integrate Solana Blinks into dApps, social media platforms, Chrome extensions, or websites. This SDK makes it easier to build custom links or QR codes that guide users through specific tasks in just a few steps.

The developers can then test their Blinks to ensure that they perform the specific actions that were intended to trigger or automate. After the testing, changes, and optimizations can be made to make it more efficient and reliable before deploying it on the desired platforms.

Benefits Of Solana Actions And Blockchain Links

The downsides of poor usability in web3 have been very apparent. As it exists conventionally, executing transactions on-chain requires multiple steps, with anxiety building along each step due to the rampant surge of scammers impersonating legitimate platforms. The uncertainty is very deterring for beginners.

Solana Actions and Blinks provide a possible solution by improving UI without compromising security.

Improved User Experience 

The integration of embedded transaction features helps users interact directly from platforms while staying within the same interface or app. This rich user interface will attract more Web2 users, as platforms like X are used for activities such as the direct buying of NFTs or stablecoins.

Along with user-friendliness, Actions and Blinks also leverage Solana blockchain's high transaction speed and low fees.

High Flexibility

Actions and Blinks are not limited to payment options but also allow users to participate in numerous activities within the Solana network ecosystem. The potential use cases range from claiming a free NFT to raising huge funds for a web3 startup project.

The highly flexible nature of Actions and Blinks, in turn, helps onboard a wide range of users with diverse interests and needs.

Increased Accessibility

With the help of Blink's simple URLs, users can explore the services of numerous decentralized platforms and applications without installing them all on their devices. For example, users only need a Solana wallet to use Blinks to swap two tokens from supported decentralized exchanges (DEXs).

The seamless accessibility will also play an important role in creating awareness among users about the latest crypto services and their benefits.

Simplified Integration

Solana's developer-friendly infrastructure allows projects to create a large number of custom Blinks for their users' convenience. The availability of efficient SDKs also encourages developers to simplify complex processes into simple links and QR codes for easy user interaction.

With this simple and efficient integration, projects can reach a much larger audience for their various crypto services.

Use Cases for Solana Actions and Blinks

The major use case possibilities with Actions and Blinks include the following: 

• Buying Crypto: Blinks can be used to purchase crypto assets directly from websites or platforms with the help of the user's wallet address for the current market price.

• NFT Minting: People with Solana Actions can mint NFTs from their favorite artist's social platform, like X, without the need to separately visit any NFT marketplaces. 

• Decentralized Fundraising: Crypto fundraising is even easier with Actions and Blinks, as users can contribute funds seamlessly and securely in just a few clicks.

• Cross-Border Payments: Blinks with Solana's highly blockchain functionality allow users to send and receive low-cost cross-border payments in much shorter timeframes.

• Quick Token Swaps: Blinks can power faster token swaps without users directly visiting exchanges, enabling a high degree of convenience. 

• Crypto Staking: Through Blinks, users get the privilege to connect Solana wallet to stake their tokens to earn staking rewards using a link or QR code. 

• DAO Voting: Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) can share Blinks anywhere on the internet to their members to vote for their proposals, simplifying the voting procedure. 

• Decentralized Prediction Market: Like interactive polls on social media platforms like X, users can now use Blinks to place their bet with crypto tokens, similar to participating in a prediction market.

• Mini Crypto Gaming: Blinks can help users participate in mini-games like online quizzes, puzzles, and word games to earn NFTs or tokens as gaming rewards.

• Crypto Super Chats: Fans can use Blinks to send super chats to their creators by paying crypto assets from their connected blockchain wallet.

Conclusion

To condense everything in as few words as possible: Actions define the on-chain transaction, while Blinks provide a user-friendly way to access and execute them from anywhere.

Solana Actions and Blinks undoubtedly have the potential to transform blockchain usability by making on-chain interactions virtually indistinguishable from, say, web2 social media engagement. This increased convenience will help accelerate crypto user onboarding and enable existing users to explore lesser-tapped and emerging sectors like decentralized prediction markets.

The developer community would play a significant role in introducing innovative features that simplify the user journey by reducing the total time and effort required to conduct daily crypto activities.

This article is only for information purposes and should not be taken as investment or financial advice. Always do your own research before signing any transactions, and verify that you are on the correct site.