Source: Crypto Economy

In an announcement made on Tuesday 25th June 2024, Solana announced the launch of Actions and Blinks, innovative features aimed at enabling easy integration of Solana on any app (like Twitter) for seamless transactions. Created by the Solana Foundation in collaboration with the Solana development firm Dialect, Blinks and Actions enable users to conduct blockchain transactions directly from the websites and social platforms they frequent daily, starting with Twitter. Now here comes the question “What are Actions and Blinks?”

Actions

Solana Actions are APIs that adhere to specifications, enabling transactions on the Solana blockchain to be previewed, signed, and sent across different contexts such as QR codes, buttons, widgets in mobile and desktop applications, and websites. These APIs simplify integration for developers, seamlessly incorporating Solana ecosystem functionalities into various environments. Users can perform blockchain transactions directly without switching to a separate application or webpage.

In response to how Actions are similar to Solana Pay, the FAQ of the Solana website explains that “Solana Pay transactions are now called Actions. Actions are not specific to payments – there are many other types of Actions, such as voting, staking, swapping, minting, and more. Actions aim to apply the Solana Pay specification to many more use cases. By using the Solana Pay primitive as inspiration, Actions will change how users interact with blockchain in everyday environments. In short, the Solana Pay spec isn’t changing. But what you can do with Actions expands the scope from payments to anything you can do on-chain.” Dialect is the company building the developing tool that powers Actions.

Here are possible use cases of Actions:

~ Users can stake SOL via Actions.

~ Actions can enable retail stores to allow customers to pay for goods and services using a QR code scan.

~ E-commerce websites can easily integrate Actions to accept crypto payments directly from product pages.

~ Traders can top up their trading accounts before a margin call.

~ For blockchain gaming platforms, trading functionalities can be integrated to enable easy in-game asset purchases.

Blinks - Blockchain Links

Blinks, referred to as “Blockchain Links” are primitives that transform any Solana Action into a shareable link with metadata. These blinks enable Action-aware clients such as browser extension wallets and bots to provide users with enhanced functionalities. Blinks are a way to interact with Actions. They enable users to carry out blockchain transactions directly from links, thus allowing for a better user experience. In this Twitter thread, you can find a list of 50 ideas developers can build with Blinks. Multiple Solana applications have integrated Blinks to enable users to easily perform different activities on the blockchain. You can learn more about Actions and Blinks here.