New Solana feature allows crypto transactions on any website

The Solana Foundation is introducing a new feature that promises to connect its blockchain to any website through a shareable link.

According to an announcement on June 25, the foundation has released Solana Actions and blockchain links or “blinks,” allowing any website that can display a URL to perform a Solana transaction.

The solution will enable a shareable link to display an interface for a Solana transaction. In other words, imagine sharing a link on X and allowing users to perform a crypto transaction without leaving X’s webpage. The new feature could be used for crowdfunding, online purchases and onchain voting.

“From your X feed you can buy a NFT, tip a creator, receive money, vote, stake, swap and so much more,” said Dialect’s founder, Chris Osborn. Dialect is behind the developer tooling that powers Actions, such as forkable, self-hosted interstitial signing sites and software development kits, a spokesperson from the Solana Foundation told Cointelegraph.

Websites, social media platforms and physical QR codes can be used to share a blink. Jon Wong, head of ecosystem engineering at the Solana Foundation, explained that actions and blinks on Solana allow any website or application to be a distribution point for onchain interactions.

Whitelisted DApps

Solana Foundation’s safety roadmap for the new feature will give users the option to enable wallet support for Actions and blinks. “Actions and blinks are similar to ‘connecting’ your wallet to DApps [decentralized applications] - trust the sites you know and use, just as you trust the DApps you know and use,” said a spokesperson.

According to the foundation, when a wallet first tries to pull a transaction from an unfamiliar application programming interface or API, users should see a standard “connect to site” prompt.

“If the site domain has been connected to the wallet in the past, the site domain is more likely to be trustworthy. As with DApps, Action transactions are always simulated prior to execution,” the team explained.

To enhance security, the launch runs with whitelisted domains from Solana’s partners, including Jupiter, Helium, Truffle, Phantom and Backpack.

Solana rises in 2024

The Solana blockchain has seen a surge in activity over the past few months. Thanks to its lower fees, it has emerged as a destination for memecoins and decentralized infrastructure protocols.

In a recent report, venture firm Pantera Capital noted that Solana recorded over 60% of the new volume in decentralized exchanges in May. “By May 2024, Solana accounted for 85% of all new tokens appearing on DEXs, up from 50% a year ago. This rise in Solana-based tokens reflects its strength in retail usage, driven by memecoin activity,” reads the analysis.

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