Don't Blink: Solana Actions Take Over X
Recently, Solana released Blinks (blockchain links). Blinks transform on-chain actions into shareable links.
Vote, Donate, Mint, Swap, Pay — use Solana, everywhere.
Why does any of this matter? What exactly do Blinks enable?
Buckle up and don’t blink. We’re about to dive in.
Solana Actions
In order to understand Blinks, we first need to understand Solana Actions.
Actions are APIs that return transactions on the Solana blockchain to be previewed, signed, and sent across various contexts. Actions enable developers to integrate the Solana ecosystem where users are without needing to navigate away to a different app or webpage.
Blinks are one of many ways to interact with Actions. Blinks allow users to execute blockchain transactions directly from URLs, making decentralized applications accessible from any platform or device.
Other examples of Actions include:
Integration to gaming platforms for in-game purchases
Token-gated minting experiences
E-Commerce websites accepting SOL payments directly from product pages
Pay at stores by scanning a QR code
Blinks
Blinks launched with support from top Solana Ecosystem Partners including Tensor, Backpack, Phantom, Jupiter, Helius and more. I would be remiss not to also mention Dialect who built an incredible suite of developer tooling that powers Actions.
Potential
Initially, the Solana Action stack is starting on X. People are able to buy NFTs, swap tokens, stake SOL, and vote directly from their timeline.
The social effect of Blinks has massive potential. As our world becomes more and more digitized, the amount of time people spend on their favorite websites and apps has never been higher.
If you want to onboard the next billion people to blockchains, you need to reach people where they already are. Enabling the reading of blockchain transactions on our favorite apps such as X, Reddit, Instagram, and Discord is a powerful push to reach normies.
Safety
I have seen a few inquiries regarding the safety of Blinks. The easier you make it to use something, the easier it also becomes for bad actors to create scams.
Solana is planning to combat safety concerns in a few ways.
To start, users have to opt-in to wallet support for Actions and Blinks. Launch partner domains are currently whitelisted.
According to Solana:
Whitelisted site domains are run by launch partners of Solana; however, users should take all the security precautions that they ordinarily would when connecting to a new site domain. If you attempt to connect to a site domain that is not whitelisted, you will be prompted to confirm that you trust this site domain and wish to proceed. Regardless of whether a site domain is whitelisted, transaction simulations / previews still occur in wallets as expected, allowing users to view transaction details before signing.
Dialect has teamed up with Solana and major wallets to run a public registry of Actions to keep users safe. Only Blinks from registered partners will unfurl directly in X.
Can I Blink now?
Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as “build it and they will come.”
Since inception, Solana has been focusing on building a robust and scalable infra capable of handling significant transactional volume.
Blinks are a massive step in the right direction of hitting users where they already spend the majority of their time. I think Solana hit the nail on the head with this release.
The question is: what and where should we Blink next?
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