SocialFi Exploration: Solana Actions & Blinks vs. Ethereum Farcaster & Lens

Author: YBB Capital Researcher Ac-Core

TLDR

• Recently, Solana and Dialect launched a new Solana concept "Actions and Blinks" that enables one-click Swap, voting, donations, Minting, and other functions through a browser plugin.

• Actions allow various operations and transactions to be executed efficiently, while Blinks ensure network consensus and consistency through time synchronization and sequential recording. Together, these concepts enable Solana to achieve a high-performance and low-latency blockchain experience.

• The development of Blinks requires support from Web2 applications, primarily bringing trust between Web2 and Web3, as well as compatibility and cooperation issues.

• Compared to Farcaster & Lens Protocol, Actions & Blinks rely more on Web2 applications to gain traffic, while the latter relies more on on-chain security.

I. How Actions and Blinks Work

Image source: Solana docs (Lifecycle of Solana Action execution process)

1.1 Actions (Solana Actions)

Official definition: Solana Actions are standardized APIs that return transactions on the Solana blockchain, which can be previewed, signed, and sent in various contexts, including QR codes, buttons + widgets (user interface elements), and websites on the internet.

Actions can be simply understood as transactions awaiting signature. In the Solana network, Actions can be seen as an abstract description of the transaction processing mechanism, covering various tasks such as transaction processing, contract execution, and data manipulation. In application, users can send transactions through Actions, including token transfers and purchasing digital assets. Similarly, developers use Actions to call and execute smart contracts, achieving complex on-chain logic.

• Solana uses the form of "Transaction" to handle these tasks, with each transaction consisting of a series of instructions executed between specific accounts. By utilizing parallel processing and the Gulf Stream protocol, Solana preemptively forwards transactions to validators, thereby reducing transaction confirmation delays. Through a fine-grained locking mechanism, Solana can handle a large number of non-conflicting transactions simultaneously, significantly enhancing system throughput.

• Solana uses Runtime to execute transaction and smart contract instructions, ensuring the correctness of inputs, outputs, and states during execution. After initial execution, transactions wait for block confirmation; once a block is agreed upon by the majority of validators, the transaction is considered final. The Solana network can process thousands of transactions per second, with transaction confirmation times as low as 400 milliseconds. Thanks to the Pipeline and Gulf Stream mechanisms, network throughput and performance are further enhanced.

• Actions are not limited to certain tasks or operations; they can encompass transactions, contract executions, data processing, etc. These operations are similar to transactions or contract calls in other blockchains, but Actions in Solana have unique advantages: first, efficient processing; Solana has designed an efficient way to handle these Actions, enabling rapid execution in a large-scale network. Second, low latency; thanks to Solana's high-performance architecture, the processing delay of Actions is very low, allowing Solana to support high-frequency transactions and applications. Finally, flexibility; Actions can be used to execute various complex operations, including smart contract calls, data storage, and retrieval (for more content, see the extended link).

1.2 Blinks (Blockchain links)

Official definition: Blinks can convert any Solana Action into a shareable, metadata-rich link. Blinks enable clients that support Actions (browser extension wallets, bots) to display more features for users. On websites, Blinks can immediately trigger transaction previews in wallets without redirecting to decentralized applications; in Discord, bots can expand Blinks into a set of interactive buttons. This allows any webpage interface that can display a URL to achieve on-chain interaction.

In simple terms, Solana Blinks convert Solana Actions into shareable links (equivalent to http). By enabling relevant features in supported wallets like Phantom, Backpack, and Solflare, websites and social media can become venues for on-chain transactions, allowing any website with a URL to directly initiate Solana transactions.

In summary, while Solana Actions and Blinks are a permissionless protocol/specification, they still require client applications and wallets to ultimately assist users in signing transactions, compared to the solver's solving process of intent narrative.

The direct goal of Actions & Blinks is to "http-link" the execution of on-chain operations in Solana for analysis in Web2 applications like Twitter.

Image source: @eli5_defi

II. Decentralized Social Protocol on Ethereum

2.1 Farcaster Protocol

Farcaster is a decentralized social graph protocol based on Ethereum and Optimism, enabling applications to connect through decentralized technologies such as blockchain, P2P networks, and distributed ledgers, establishing connections with users. It allows users to seamlessly migrate and share content across different platforms without relying on a single centralized entity. Its open graph protocol (which automatically extracts content from links posted in social network posts and injects interactive features) allows the content of links posted by users to be automatically extracted and transformed into interactive applications.

Decentralized Network: Farcaster relies on a decentralized network, avoiding the single point of failure issues of centralized servers in traditional social networks. It uses distributed ledger technology to ensure data security and transparency.

Public Key Encryption: Each user on Farcaster has a pair of public and private keys. The public key identifies the user, while the private key signs the user's operations. This method ensures the privacy and security of user data.

Data Portability: User data is stored in a decentralized storage system rather than on a single server. This allows users to have complete control over their data and migrate it between different applications.

Verifiable Identity: Through public key encryption technology, Farcaster ensures that each user's identity is verifiable. Users can prove their control over an account through signatures.

Decentralized Identifiers (DID): Farcaster uses decentralized identifiers (DID) to identify users and content. DID is a public key-based identifier with high security and immutability.

Data Consistency: To ensure data consistency in the network, Farcaster employs a consensus mechanism similar to blockchain ("posts" as nodes). This mechanism ensures consensus among all nodes regarding user data and operations, thus guaranteeing data integrity and consistency.

Decentralized Applications: Farcaster provides a development platform that allows developers to build and deploy decentralized applications (DApps). These applications can seamlessly integrate with the Farcaster network, providing users with various functions and services.

Security and Privacy: Farcaster emphasizes the privacy and security of user data. All data transmission and storage are encrypted, and users can choose to make their content public or private.

In the new Frames feature of Farcaster (different Frames integrate with Farcaster and operate independently), "casts" (analogous to "posts," including text, images, videos, and links) can be turned into interactive applications. These contents are stored in a decentralized network, ensuring their persistence and immutability. Each cast has a unique identifier, making it traceable, and user identities are confirmed through a decentralized identity verification system. As a decentralized social protocol, Farcaster's clients can seamlessly connect to Frames.

2.2 The main principles include the following three aspects:

Image source: Architecture l Farcaster

The Farcaster protocol is divided into three main layers: Identity Layer, Data Layer (Hubs), and Application Layer. Each layer has specific functions and roles.

Identity Layer

• Function: Responsible for managing and verifying user identities; provides decentralized identity verification, ensuring the uniqueness and security of user identities; specifically composed of four registries: ld Registry, Fname, Key Registry, and Storage Registry (see reference link 1 for details).

• Technical Principle: Uses decentralized identifiers (DID) based on public key encryption technology; each user has a unique DID for identifying and verifying user identities; through public and private key pairs, it ensures that only the user can control and manage their identity information. The identity layer ensures seamless migration and verification of user identities across different applications and services.

Data Layer (Data Layer - Hubs)

• Function: Responsible for storing and managing user-generated data, providing a decentralized data storage system that ensures data security, integrity, and accessibility.

• Technical Principle: Hubs are decentralized data storage nodes distributed throughout the network; each Hub is an independent storage unit responsible for storing and managing a portion of the data. Data is stored in a distributed manner across Hubs, using encryption technology to protect data security. The data layer ensures high availability and scalability of data, allowing users to access and migrate their data at any time.

Application Layer

• Function: Provides a platform for developing and deploying decentralized applications (DApps), supporting various application scenarios, including social networks, content publishing, messaging, etc.

• Technical Principle: Developers can use the APIs and tools provided by Farcaster to build and deploy decentralized applications; the application layer seamlessly integrates with the identity layer and data layer, ensuring user identity verification and data management when using applications; decentralized applications run on a decentralized network, not relying on centralized servers, enhancing the reliability and security of applications.

2.3 Summary of the above:

The direct goal of Solana's Actions & Blinks is to open up traffic channels for Web2 applications. The intuitive potential impact: from the user's perspective, it simplifies transactions while increasing the risk of funds being stolen; from Solana's perspective, it greatly enhances the traffic effect of breaking into new circles, but there are risks in application compatibility and support under Web2's censorship system. Perhaps in the future, with the support of Solana's vast system, such as Layer2, SVM, mobile operating systems, etc., there will be further development.

The Ethereum Farcaster protocol, compared to Solana's strategic approach, weakens the introduction of Web2 traffic while enhancing overall resistance to censorship and security. Overall, under the Fracster + EVM model, it is closer to the native concept of Web3.

2.4 Lens Protocol

Image source: LensFrens

Lens Protocol is also a decentralized social graph protocol aimed at providing users with complete control over their social data and content. Through Lens Protocol, users can create, own, and manage their social graphs, which can seamlessly migrate across different applications and platforms. The protocol uses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to represent users' social graphs and content, ensuring data uniqueness and security. Located on Ethereum, Lens Protocol shares some similarities and differences with Farcaster:

Similarities:

• User Control: Users have complete control over their data and content in both protocols.

• Identity Verification: Uses decentralized identity identifiers (DID) and encryption technology to ensure the security and uniqueness of user identities.

Differences:

• Technical Architecture:

• Farcaster: Built on Ethereum (L1), divided into Identity Layer (managing user identities), Data Layer (Data Layer - Hubs) for decentralized storage nodes managing data, and Application Layer providing DApps development platform, using offline Hubs for data propagation.

• Lens Protocol: Based on Polygon (L2), uses NFTs to represent users' social graphs and content, with all activities stored in users' wallets, emphasizing data ownership and portability.

• Verification and Data Management:

• Farcaster: Uses distributed storage nodes (Hubs) for data management, ensuring data security and high availability. Requires annual updates for handles, using delta graphs to achieve consensus.

• Lens Protocol: Personal data profile NFTs ensure data uniqueness and security, with no need for updates.

• Application Ecosystem:

• Farcaster: Provides a comprehensive DApps development platform, seamlessly integrating with its identity layer and data layer.

• Lens Protocol: Focuses on the portability of users' social graphs and content, supporting seamless switching between different platforms and applications.

Through the above comparison, we can see that Farcaster and Lens Protocol have similarities in user control and identity verification, but significant differences in data storage and ecosystems. Farcaster emphasizes a layered structure and decentralized storage, while Lens Protocol emphasizes using NFTs to achieve data portability and ownership.

III. Which of the three can achieve large-scale application landing first?

Through the above analysis, each of the three has its strengths and challenges. Solana, with its high performance and ability to turn any website or application into a gateway for cryptocurrency transactions, has quickly gained popularity by leveraging the advantage of generating links through Blinks, but its reliance on Web2 also comes with the issue of trading security for traffic.

Lens Protocol, born in 2022, has the longest qualifications and provides good scalability and transparency through its fully on-chain modular design and storage, seizing a market opportunity. However, it may currently face challenges related to costs, scalability, and the market's FOMO sentiment.

Farcaster's advantage lies in its underlying design, which is the most aligned with Web3 logic among the three protocols, having the highest degree of decentralization. However, the challenges it faces include the difficulty of technical iteration and user management issues.

Extended link:
(1) https://solana.com/docs/advanced/actions

Reference articles:

【1】https://research.web3caff.com/zh/archives/13066?ref=416