Imagine being able to invite your friends to play games via a QR code or link on WeChat, or pay your family for a milk tea. What if everything that a WeChat mini-app can do happens in Web3? That is the revolution brought by Solana Blinks.

Solana’s introduction of Blinks has sparked heated discussions. With just a link, Blinks can instantly trigger transaction previews in the wallet. But can Blinks become a catalyst for mass adoption of Web3? Let’s find out.

First, let’s understand what Blinks are.

Blinks, or Blockchain Links, is a technology that transforms on-chain operations into front-end pages and is one of the applications of Solana Actions.

In traditional interactions, users need to visit a website and then use buttons to interact with a Web3 wallet. Blinks allow users to skip the step of visiting a webpage, enabling direct on-chain operations via a link.

How Blinks work

The operation consists of a URL scheme, GET routes, and POST routes to the operation provider:

1. A URL scheme to identify the Actions Provider.
2. GET requests and responses sent to and from the operation URL to provide human-readable information to the client.
3. POST requests and responses sent to and from the operation URL to construct transactions (and messages to be sent) for signing and submitting to the blockchain.

Illustration of How Blinks Work

What can Blinks be used for?

Blinks is currently in the social experimental stage and only supports X platform (Twitter) plug-ins, but I believe there will be more applications in the near future. Users can receive and process blockchain transaction requests in real time on the X platform. For example, when receiving a payment request or smart contract signing request, it can be completed directly on Twitter without jumping to other platforms.

Sharing Blinks through the X platform can quickly spread information about blockchain activities or applications, which also makes Blinks a powerful tool for “dogs”. The most direct thing is that due to the characteristics of Blinks, it has also become an exciting tool for obtaining rebates. One of the largest DEX platforms on the Solana network, Raydium, has started supporting 1% rebates on all tokens through Blinks. Traditional rebate links usually require users to visit a webpage and may be disconnected from users’ on-chain actions and timing. Blinks reduces this disconnection, making the rebate process smoother and more efficient.

Raydium and Jupiter support Blinks

Let’s take a look at Blinks’ current applications on the X platform

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Can Blinks Become a Killer App and Drive Mass Adoption of Web3?

While enjoying convenience, security concerns must also be taken seriously. In a Web3 environment, convenient payments might also mean a higher risk of scams. The developers clearly considered this, so projects using Blinks must pass an audit by Dialect’s registry to ensure they are open source. On one hand, more open-source projects will foster the growth of the Solana ecosystem. On the other hand, new scams are inevitable, and specific security issues will need to be explored further in practice.

Currently, supporting only the X platform is not enough, especially considering that most X platform users are on mobile devices. For Blinks to become a killer app and bridge Web2 and Web3, it would need to integrate with community platforms like Telegram and Discord, which have large Web2 user bases, and connect applications with wallets (similar to TON, but with broader application). As the official documentation states, “This allows on-chain interactions to be achievable on any web interface that can display a URL” — this is the ultimate goal.

Blinks provides a more convenient and innovative payment method, and it’s undoubtedly worth trying. Since meme-related activities are primarily active on X, choosing X as the starting point is correct. It can certainly make waves in the Solana network’s meme ecosystem. Connecting Blinks to the X platform is just the first step. What’s more exciting is the potential future development. Ultimately, the goal is for all platforms that can display links and QR codes to support Solana network payments, highlighting the vast potential of Blinks.

Imagine being able to invite friends to a game or pay family for a milk tea via QR codes and links on WeChat — all the functions of WeChat mini apps happening in Web3. That’s the revolution Solana Blinks brings.

With Solana Blinks, you can easily perform on-chain interactions on Twitter using QR codes and links, such as sniping tokens, wallet signatures, or initiating GameFi challenges and fundraising, without navigating complex links and wallet signing procedures.

While Ton Chain’s advantage lies in smoothly bringing Web2 users into the complex Web3 network through mini apps in communication software, its limitation is confined to “Telegram.” In contrast, Solana Blinks can work with “any communication software” through QR codes and links, bridging Web2 and Web3. As a stimulus in a bull market, Solana Blinks could certainly spark a wave of market enthusiasm.

How to Start Using Blinks on the X Platform?

Phantom, Backpack, and Solflare native wallets now support Blinks, and you can also download the Dialect Blinks plugin.

1. Open the plugin and enable the Blinks switch.

Here’s an example using the Phantom wallet:

Go to Settings - Experimental Features - Enable Solana Actions on X.com

1. Publish your Blink

Go directly to the official website of the application that supports Blinks, copy the URL above, and publish it on the X platform。

Here we use Jupiter’s URL as an example. When you turn on the wallet plug-in and refresh the page, you can see the payment interface.

https://x.com/MetaHub_DAO/status/1807821940541083659

What are the steps for developers to access Blinks?

1. Reference Solana Action documentation for coding

2. Put the open source code into Dialect Github for review

There are also some reference codes in the Github example

1. Test: Place your Blinks in https://www.dial.to/ search bar. Then, the application interface will appear.

Here we put Blink published on the X platform on Dial.to and found more support channels. For example, Google via TipLink was found through experiments to be a managed wallet created through a Google account. A Google account corresponds to a wallet address. It is friendly to Web2 users and is a step closer to connecting wallets and applications in the future.

You can even directly create a donation link with one click via TipLink.

1. You need to proceed to Register Blink after confirming your Blinks.

After completing these steps, your Blinks application can successfully connect to the X platform and provide users with a convenient payment experience. Let’s look forward to more applications of Blinks!

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