How Blinks technology changes the rules of the crypto game

Introduction: The CGV research team deeply analyzes the progress of Solana's Blink technology and application scenarios, and explores how it can use its own advantages, overcome challenges, and achieve long-term development in the fields of crypto asset management and DeFi.

Author:Shigeru

Blinks technology, as a revolutionary innovation in the Solana ecosystem, allows users to interact directly with the blockchain through a simple URL or QR code, without the need for complex wallet settings or transaction processes. This innovative way of interaction greatly reduces the threshold for users to enter the blockchain world, expands the application boundaries of blockchain technology, and promotes the in-depth integration and transformation of the Solana ecosystem and the Internet world.

"Solana Internet" is not just a new concept, it represents a new network ecology. As the slogan of Blinks' official website says: It's time to connect Solana to the entire internet. Through Blinks technology, Solana's vision of connecting the entire Internet is slowly being realized.

The CGV research team deeply analyzed the intrinsic connection between Solana Actions and Blinks technology and its application potential in multiple scenarios, and looked forward to how this technology can promote the wider adoption of Solana and blockchain technology.

Before understanding Blinks, why is Solana Actions indispensable?

Before exploring how Blinks technology can revolutionize the way we interact with blockchain, we must first understand the technical pillar behind it - Solana Actions. Just as high-rise buildings need a solid foundation, the convenience and powerful functions of Blinks are inseparable from the support of Solana Actions.

(1) Actions allow the use of complex business logic (on-chain and off-chain) to build transaction message APIs that can be previewed, signed, and sent by the client. Native buttons, QR codes, or URLs (Blinks) can initiate actions.

Examples of Actions:

- Staking SOL to help secure the Solana network, including liquid staking tokens

- Allowing customers to pay in retail stores using QR code scanning

- Token-gated minting experiences where only verified users can participate or enjoy specific resources and benefits

- Enabling e-commerce sites to accept cryptocurrency payments directly from product pages

- Funding trading accounts before margin calls

- Integrating blockchain functionality into gaming platforms for in-game asset purchases and trading

(2) Blinks are a way to interact with Actions. Blinks allows users to perform blockchain transactions directly from a URL, allowing decentralized applications to be accessed from any platform or device. Examples of Blinks: - Tip content creators on social media without complicated wallet setup - Mint custom NFTs or participate in governance votes directly from a URL - Let users vote on community policies through links in newsletters (3) About the relationship between Actions and Blinks Imagine Actions is a "kitchen". In this kitchen, you can prepare a variety of complex and delicious dishes (i.e., blockchain transactions). You can add various ingredients (on-chain and off-chain logic) and cook according to recipes (API specifications). This kitchen is very flexible and can make a variety of dishes to meet different needs.

Blinks is like a "takeout service". When you prepare dishes in the kitchen, you can deliver these dishes to customers (users) through a takeout service (Blinks). Customers don't need to come to the kitchen in person, nor do they need to know how the dishes are prepared. They can enjoy these delicacies directly through a simple link or QR code.

In short, the relationship between Actions and Blinks is like a "kitchen" and a "takeout service". Actions is responsible for preparing transactions, and Blinks is responsible for delivering these transactions to users, allowing users to execute these transactions easily and quickly. This approach greatly simplifies the user experience and makes blockchain technology more accessible and easy to use.

Blinks' "Reduced Jump": Will Solana Get the Secret Weapon for Massive Adoption of Crypto?

From the first principle point of view, Blinks simplifies user operations by "reducing jumps", improves user experience, expands the application scenarios of blockchain technology, and promotes the popularization of decentralized applications. These features significantly enhance the convenience and usability of the crypto ecosystem and promote the wider application of blockchain technology.

(1) From the user's psychological point of view, "reducing jumps" helps to:

Simplify the decision-making process: Each jump or additional click will increase the user's cognitive burden and decision-making time. Simplifying the process reduces the user's thinking time and enables them to make purchase decisions faster.

Reduce churn points: Each step of operation is a potential churn point. Users may give up purchasing due to reasons such as long page loading time and complex operations. Reducing jump steps can significantly reduce this churn.

(2) From the successful cases of Internet products, we can see how “reducing jumps” can significantly improve conversion rates and user experience:

TikTok’s video shopping function allows users to purchase products directly in the video by embedding shopping links or shopping carts in short videos.

In 2023, TikTok’s US user shopping volume increased by 72.3% to 23.7 million; 67% of TikTok users said they were inspired to buy products on the platform without any shopping intention; and 68% of Generation Z consumers said they would rather buy products directly on TikTok.

Amazon’s conversion rate increased significantly after introducing the One-Click Purchase function. Industry experts estimate that this function has increased conversion rates by at least 70%. This way of simplifying the purchase process has also been imitated by many other e-commerce platforms.

About 70% of the shopping cart abandonment rate is partly due to the complicated checkout process. After introducing the "one-click purchase" function, the average user's consumption increased by 28.5%, the user's purchase frequency increased by 43%, and the number of purchased items increased by 36%.

The best is the best: Blinks typical application scenario recommendation

1. Social media rewards:

- Example 1: A well-known YouTuber such as MrBeast posted a challenge video about charity on his channel. Viewers can use the Solana wallet to tip relevant charities directly by clicking on the Blinks link in the video description.

  - Example 2: Ethereum founder @VitalikButerin shared his views on the future development of Ethereum through a tweet. Fans can directly tip to express their support through the Blinks link in the tweet.

2. Crowdfunding Campaigns:

  - Example 1: GoFundMe launched a charity crowdfunding project to support Ukrainian refugees. Supporters can use the Solana Actions button on the project page to make instant donations to support the causes they care about.

  - Example 2: The Reddit community launched a crowdfunding project to restore a historic monument. Community members can participate in the crowdfunding through the Blinks link in the Reddit post.

3. On-chain voting:

  - Example 1: Well-known blockchain projects on Twitter, such as Uniswap, initiate community voting through tweets to determine the development priority of new features. Community members can participate in the vote through the Blinks link in the tweet.

  - Example 2: A discussion in the Reddit community about whether new rules should be introduced, and on-chain voting was conducted through the Blinks link in the post to ensure the transparency and fairness of the voting process.

4. NFT casting and bidding:

  - Example 1: Artist Beeple released his latest work on Twitter and provided a Blinks link so that fans can directly cast and bid for this NFT.

  - Example 2: SEND is currently the first application of the Blinks ecosystem and has been called many times by the founder of Solana. The series of NFTs is Blinks' first freemint NFT project. The transaction volume once surpassed well-known NFTs such as BAYC and Punks, becoming the first in the entire network; the token $SEND was oversubscribed by more than 700 times, setting a Solana pre-sale record. Of course, as a community token that powers the Blinks ecosystem, SEND still needs more content and time to enrich its story and development.

5. Cryptocurrency transactions:

  - Example 1: In Facebook's Marketplace, a user found a post selling cryptocurrency. Through the Solana Actions in the post, buyers can directly purchase the seller's cryptocurrency.

  - Example 2: @CryptoCobain, a well-known trader on Twitter, shared information about a Meme token that is about to explode through a tweet, and fans can directly purchase it through the Blinks link in the tweet.

6. Token-Gated Content:

  - Example 1: Netflix launched a Token-Gated series, where only members holding specific tokens can watch certain exclusive content. Members can verify their token holdings through Solana Actions integrated in the Netflix app.

  - Example 2: The well-known blogging platform Medium allows authors to set up Token-Gated content, and only readers holding specific tokens can access premium articles.

7. Advertising and Promotion:

  - Example 1: Airbnb posted an ad on Instagram to promote its latest travel experience. Users clicked on the Blinks link in the ad to directly book the experience or learn more details.

  - Example 2: Tesla released its latest electric car model on Twitter. Through the Blinks link in the tweet, users can directly book or learn more about the product.

8. Game Interaction:

  - Example 1: Game company EA Sports released new features of FIFA 23 on Twitter. Fans can experience some interactive features of the game directly on Twitter by clicking on the Blinks link in the tweet.

  - Example 2: The blockchain game platform Decentraland released a virtual world exploration event on social media, and users can directly enter the game and participate in the event through the Blinks link.

9. Enhanced community interaction:

  - Example 1: The LinkedIn professional community is holding a discussion on blockchain technology. Participants can participate in on-chain Q&A or share their own insights through the Blinks link in the LinkedIn post.

  - Example 2: A discussion on cryptocurrency investment in the Reddit community, through the Blinks link in the post, on-chain voting is carried out to determine the community's investment strategy.

10. One-click on-chain operation:

   - Example 1: The charity UNICEF launched an emergency fundraising campaign on its official website. Supporters can complete donations with one click through the Solana Actions button on the official website to support global children's education projects.

   - Example 2: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) such as Bankless DAO publish activities through social media. Members can participate in voting or donations with one click through the Blinks link, simplifying the participation process.

PayFi and Blinks: The perfect fusion of financial innovation and user experience

Here I want to emphasize that the financial innovation direction of the Solana ecosystem, PayFi, and the user experience optimization of Blinks are also highly compatible.

PayFi, as defined by Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, is a breakthrough financial concept that focuses on the optimization of settlement time. It is different from DeFi and focuses more on the advantages of instant settlement, which is of great value to investment transactions and financial markets.

Combined with the functions of blinks, it helps to promote PayFi in creator monetization, invoice financing, payment processing risk management, and cultivating a global private credit pool on Solana.

  - Creator monetization: Creators can monetize their content through Blinks links, and users can reward or purchase content without complicated wallet settings, which facilitates PayFi's creator monetization scenarios.

  - Invoice financing: Through Blinks, enterprises can quickly complete the operation of invoice financing, simplifying the financing process and improving efficiency.

  - Payment processing risk management: Blinks' instant transaction function can help PayFi achieve more efficient settlement and risk control in payment processing risk management.

  - Credit loan: Users submit credit loan applications through Blinks links, and the credit pool automatically evaluates credit status and makes loan decisions in real time.

  - Invoice financing: Enterprises submit invoice financing applications through Blinks links, and the credit pool quickly evaluates and provides financing services based on the enterprise's credit data.

  - Cross-border credit services: Users in different countries and regions apply for and evaluate credit through Blinks links to achieve globally consistent credit services.

Through these application scenarios, we can see that Blinks is not only a technical tool, it is also a bridge connecting users, creators, enterprises and financial markets. The combination of Blinks and PayFi heralds the arrival of a new era of more efficient, convenient and secure financial transactions.

In mid-July, the Solana Foundation announced a major initiative: to provide $400,000 in funding to open source developers of Solana Actions and Blinks Tools. This funding program has now officially started, soliciting innovative projects from developers around the world. At the same time, the Send project has also launched the "Blinkathon" hackathon series for developers. The event aims to inspire developers' creativity and build and promote the Blinks ecosystem supported by SEND. These initiatives not only provide financial support for developers, but also provide a broad stage for the innovation and application of Blinks technology.

The CGV team believes that the "Solana Internet" is not only a fusion of technologies, but also an innovation of concepts. It represents the perfect combination of blockchain technology and the spirit of the Internet, and heralds the arrival of an open, interconnected and shared digital world.

With the continuous maturity of Blinks technology and the continuous expansion of application scenarios, we are witnessing the opening of a new blockchain era. Let us wait and see how the "Solana Internet" will reshape our digital life.