Original Title: Solana introduces Actions and Blinks: The next step in bringing onchain to everywhere on the Internet

Original Author: @tpan

Original Translation: Ismay, BlockBeats

Editor's note: With the development of blockchain technology, user experience and security have always been the focus of major platforms. Solana introduced Actions and Blinks last night, sparking widespread discussion in the community. This also reminds people of the Frames feature on the popular social protocol Farcaster, which demonstrates different paths to improving on-chain interaction convenience. Therefore, some people are worried that X will erode Farcaster's first-mover advantage with the help of Blinks. However, Dan, the founder of the Farcaster protocol, stated in the community that Blinks can only be used on the web, but 88% of Twitter users are mobile users, implying that the emergence of Blinks does not pose a threat to Farcaster.

Returning to this translated article, the author discusses the advantages, potential risks, and future prospects of these two innovative features. Whether it's the permissionless Frames or the registered process to ensure the security of Actions and Blinks, these new features are gradually changing users' on-chain experience and raising the interaction standards of the entire blockchain ecosystem.

Below is the original text:

Earlier today, the Solana Foundation introduced Actions and Blinks, an exciting feature that allows users to conduct on-chain transactions on any online platform. The team's announcement video demonstrated the practical operation of this feature and the use of Blinks (blockchain links).

Brief Introduction to Actions and Blinks

Actions, previously known as Solana Pay transactions, expand the initial payment use case to cover other operations such as minting, swapping, voting, and more under the broader term "Actions."

Blinks (blockchain links) transform Actions into shareable links rich in metadata, allowing the client (the user interface part of the application) to display more functions for user interaction.

Actions and Blinks can be distributed in various formats: links, QR codes, push notifications, messaging apps, etc.

This integration was co-developed by Dialect Labs, a company specializing in messaging, notifications, and in-app operation products.

For more information, please visit the official website and developer documentation.

Demonstration of Actions and Blinks in Operation

The best way to experience the new features is to view real-time examples! If you are interested in viewing these examples, please install the Phantom or Backpack extensions on your desktop.

Phantom (crypto wallet) shared a real-time example, allowing users to use SOL to purchase Bonk through a blink.

Jupiter also shared a real-time example, allowing users to use SOL to purchase Jupiter tokens through a blink.

These initial examples are not only cool—they have a broad and exciting impact on the future development.

Making onchain easier: pros and cons of blinks

The benefits of Actions and Blinks are obvious. They make on-chain transactions easier, expand channels for awareness and acquisition, and are flexible enough to be used on various applications and platforms, such as X, Discord, and more.

Less clicking = more convenience = higher possibility of action or participation

In the future, the following situations may arise:

Projects can launch their minting activities on mature markets such as Opensea or Magic Eden, as well as platforms like Discord, Telegram, and X.

Projects and their respective community members can create new interactive modes around participation, gamification, and recommendations.

New users entering the crypto and Web3 space will experience on-chain operations for the first time through simple and friendly tutorial modules on trusted applications, rather than crypto wallet extensions.

On the other hand, this new feature also raises some concerns, especially on platforms like X, where the biggest issue is that Blinks may make scams more rampant. Imagine a world where celebrities can launch their memecoins with a few clicks and then promote them through Blinks (PS: The trend of celebrity coins has not stopped: Jason Derulo, Travis Barker, and 50 Cent have recently launched their own tokens, sigh).

As expected, and fortunately, Solana has already recognized the potential risks and abuse, so they have implemented some protective measures at the initial launch:

At launch, extension partners (Phantom, Backpack, Dialect) will only "unfold" registered Action URLs on X. Developers must register their Actions with Dialect, and Blinks will present additional user interface features to enhance security.

Users must choose a wallet that supports Actions and Blinks, as this is an experimental feature.

If users attempt to connect to a domain not whitelisted, they will be prompted to confirm their trust in the site before continuing the operation.

Great power comes with great responsibility, and fortunately, Solana understands the appeal of Actions and Blinks for mainstream adoption, while also realizing their potential for abuse, hence the slow rollout.

Wait a minute, this reminds me of…

Frames on Farcaster

Leaving aside the technical details (I'm not qualified to delve into them), we have two different modern "widgets" with a common goal: to make on-chain interaction more convenient and user-friendly.

Depth vs. breadth

Although it feels like a long time has passed, Frames were only introduced about 5 months ago. Fast forward to today, the usage of Frames continues to grow, and they even have their own trending tag, embedded as a core part of the Farcaster ecosystem.

On the other hand, Actions and Blinks have opted for broader coverage, expanding discoverability, shareability, and virality across various channels. While there are potential concerns about client-side removal of Blinks support, the enhanced user interface elements come from the Chrome extension itself, making it a game-changer.

In short: X cannot "remove" Blinks because the user interface changes are based on the Chrome extension.

Deployment

Frames are almost permissionless, as anyone can create and publish Frames. On the other hand, Actions and Blinks have a registration process in place to ensure user safety. Despite the slower rollout, I imagine the Solana developer community is excitedly experimenting behind the scenes, similar to the Farcaster community's experiment with Frames in January.

Solana and Dialect are also actively providing funding to support developers in creating Actions and Blinks integrations.

Growth of Core Contributors and Ecosystem

Farcaster Frames were developed by the Farcaster team and later grew into a larger community effort.

For Actions and Blinks, the Solana Foundation has taken a more proactive approach from development to announcement (Saga Mobile being another example of this approach). Each ecosystem and foundation has its own unique ecosystem growth approach. This release has caught the attention of developers in the Ethereum ecosystem, raising questions about different mindsets and coordination methods.

Regardless of foundation support, I believe this development will soon be emulated by other ecosystems. The benefits brought by its distribution are undoubtedly huge, and its potential is yet to be fully realized.

On the other hand, the client is in an interesting position. Since Blinks are based on installed Chrome extensions, the client cannot "delete" them on the desktop. Will they consider collaborating with Solana to create a more proactive user experience? If so, how would they achieve it?

Lastly, and most importantly, consumers are being exposed to a new set of interactive experiences that are novel, convenient, and easy to use. The standard for a "good" on-chain consumer experience is rapidly rising, and this has been long-awaited.

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