Solana Foundation partners with Dialect to launch a new feature that allows users to trade cryptocurrencies directly on social networks, aiming to simplify the user experience and drive wider adoption.
The Solana blockchain network, at the center of the recent “meme coin” craze with projects like rapper Iggy Azalea's $MOTHER token (cap $70 million) and $WIF (cap more than $2 billion), has introduced New feature sets called “Actions” and “Blinks”. Developed by Solana Foundation in partnership with Dialect, this feature allows users to conduct blockchain transactions directly on familiar websites and social media platforms such as X.
According to the Solana Foundation announcement, “Solana Actions allows users to conduct on-chain transactions across multiple platforms, including websites, social networks, and physical QR codes. Actions makes it easy for developers to integrate everything you can do in the Solana ecosystem right into their apps.”
The technology will be supported by popular Solana wallets like Phantom and Backpack from the start, and other platforms can integrate it by following the implementation instructions in the chain's developer documentation.
However, for blockchain to become popular, the underlying technology needs to be upgraded. Complicated wallet software and difficult-to-navigate trading platforms make trading meme coins and cryptocurrencies in general a barrier for newcomers.
Solana Actions Execution and Lifecycle
“Actions” and “Blinks” on Solana enable every website and application on the internet to become a distribution point for on-chain interactions – driving the goal of mainstream adoption,” said Jon Wong, director of ecosystem engineering. Thai of Solana Foundation, said.
For example, users can embed an “action” in a post on X that mentions a specific meme coin. People who see the post can click on it and start trading on Solana, adding tokens to their blockchain wallet. Users can also use “blinks” (a portmanteau of “blockchain” and “link”) to share actions from other users with their followers.
“From your X feed, you can buy NFTs, tip creators, receive coins, vote, stake, exchange and more…” according to Chris Osborn, founder of Dialect.
“Blinks” and “Actions” have many similarities with Farcaster, a social networking platform similar to X on Coinbase's Base blockchain. Farcaster users can easily embed direct links to blockchain assets in their posts and specialized Farcaster clients like Kiosk (an upcoming widget from the creators of the Web3 Mirror publishing platform ) turns click-like calls to action into core selling points.
Farcaster, Kiosk and Solana are all well aware that social networks are at the forefront of crypto culture – where users exchange memes, news and trading opportunities. Solana's technology is different in that it integrates blockchain functionality into existing Web2 social applications instead of new standalone Web3 applications.
Osborn hopes “Actions” can eventually disrupt the way the web works at a core level. “Delivering these Actions into feeds like X, Reddit, maybe Discord soon – other platforms where people want to have this Action experience – is just the start,” Osborn said. “What I'm really excited about is what is a 'Web3' internet that isn't really a 'copycat'? We don't know what that is, but I think the idea of action is at the core.”
