Solana Changelike: Weekly Updates and Innovations

In this week's Solana Changelike, hosts Jacob and Jonas delve into the latest developments and innovations within the Solana ecosystem. From exciting announcements about Breakpoint developer tickets to groundbreaking proposals for interfaces and zero-knowledge implementations, this episode covers a wide range of topics that are shaping the future of Solana.

Top Projects

Lulo

Score: 7,586.13

Bonk

Score: 4,806.12

Sphere

Score: 2,544.42

Moonwalk

Score: 2,026.11

Breakpoint Developer Tickets

Solana's annual conference, Breakpoint, is set to take place in Amsterdam this year, and the organization has made a significant announcement for developers. In an effort to encourage developer participation and foster community growth, Solana is offering heavily discounted tickets for developers.

The current price for developer tickets is an incredibly affordable $10, making it an excellent opportunity for developers to attend this prestigious event. This pricing strategy aims to remove financial barriers and ensure that developers from all backgrounds can participate in Breakpoint.

But who qualifies for these developer tickets? Jacob explains, "If you have open source contributions, basically at all, if you are a developer with a GitHub with open source contributions, you can get a developer ticket. If you have any Solana contributions, you will automatically also get a developer ticket."

This inclusive approach means that developers working on Solana, other blockchain platforms, or even traditional web development can take advantage of this offer. It's a fantastic opportunity for developers to immerse themselves in the Solana ecosystem, learn from industry experts, and network with like-minded professionals.

Metaplex's Path to Immutability

Metaplex, a key player in the Solana ecosystem, has made a significant announcement regarding the future of their program. Over the course of approximately 18 months, Metaplex plans to transition their program to become immutable.

This decision marks a crucial step in Metaplex's evolution and demonstrates their commitment to enhancing security and reliability within the Solana ecosystem. By making their program immutable, Metaplex aims to provide users and developers with increased confidence in the stability and longevity of their platform.

The announcement, shared on Twitter, provides comprehensive information about the implications of this change and outlines the specific modifications that will be implemented in the program. This transparency allows the community to understand and prepare for the upcoming changes.

In addition to the immutability plan, Metaplex has also introduced some new fees. While the specifics of these fees were not detailed in the podcast, they are likely designed to support the ongoing development and maintenance of the platform.

Jacob encourages listeners to engage with the discussion surrounding these changes, stating, "You can join the discussion on Twitter as well as their MPL on GitHub on what your thoughts are on these changes." This open dialogue demonstrates Metaplex's commitment to community involvement and feedback in shaping the future of their platform.

The hosts express their approval of Metaplex's decision to become immutable in the long term, recognizing the positive impact this will have on the Solana ecosystem as a whole.

Interfaces: A New Frontier for Solana

One of the most exciting developments discussed in this episode is the ongoing conversation about interfaces within the Solana community. Interfaces represent a significant step forward in enhancing the flexibility and interoperability of Solana's programming model.

Jacob mentions that there have been numerous discussions about interfaces on Twitter, including a Twitter space held two weeks prior to this podcast. These discussions have focused on explaining what interfaces are, how they empower developers on Solana, and the various implementation ideas being explored.

A new proposal, SRC-15, has been put forward by Tony, which outlines the goals for interfaces and suggests implementation methods. This proposal is not alone; Jacob notes that there are also SRC-10, SRC-12, and SRC-3, all presenting different approaches to implementing interfaces on Solana.

To help listeners understand the concept of interfaces, Jacob provides a practical example: "Let's say that you have a token and the token has a transfer function and that transfer function has an amount per parameter in a destination. That's just an example. Today on Solana, if you had a token and say the token program with that transfer instruction with those parameters, you could only transfer tokens or create tokens with that singular token program."

He then explains how interfaces would change this scenario: "What you could do instead is interfaces is that you define what that function is that everybody will implement so that transfer that amount to who and then every token programs that exist can implement that transfer function and adhere to whatever the interfaces for token programs in general."

This approach offers several advantages:

1. Enhanced Innovation: By allowing multiple implementations of standard functions, interfaces foster a more competitive and innovative landscape within the Solana community.

2. Reduced Risk: In the event of an issue with a particular token program, the impact is limited, reducing the overall risk to the ecosystem.

3. Standardization: Interfaces provide a defined set of functions and parameters that all developers can implement, making it easier to interact with various types of tokens on Solana.

Jacob draws a parallel to Ethereum's ERC standards, such as ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155, highlighting how interfaces would enable similar functionality on Solana. However, he emphasizes that the potential applications extend beyond just tokens, opening up possibilities for NFTs, sign-in tokens, and various other use cases.

Jonas expresses enthusiasm for the developer experience that interfaces would enable: "I can't wait for me as a developer to just put in a program ID and then I call another program because you can use it at some point for all kinds of programs, not only tokens, so I think it's gonna be a great change."

The hosts encourage listeners to join the discussions on the Solana forum to learn more about interfaces and contribute their thoughts on which implementation suits them best. This collaborative approach ensures that the development of interfaces on Solana is guided by the needs and insights of the community.

Zero-Knowledge Innovations

The podcast highlights exciting developments in the realm of zero-knowledge proofs on Solana. Jonas points out a recent commit that introduces a new keygen capability for generating zero-knowledge keys using the ElGamal curve.

This addition is significant because it differs from the standard wallet key pair that uses the ed25519 curve. The introduction of zero-knowledge keys opens up new possibilities for privacy-preserving applications on Solana.

Jonas also mentions that the Unity SDK is exploring zero-knowledge implementations using the Light Protocol, which has recently been ported to Solana. This convergence of technologies suggests that zero-knowledge applications are set to become a prominent feature of the Solana ecosystem.

Jacob expresses enthusiasm for these developments, highlighting the advantages of implementing privacy features at the application layer on Solana: "It enables privacy on the base layer. And it's not a requirement on the L1 or the protocol to implement it, but other people, because of the way that people can build on Solana, other people can implement them and add privacy."

He contrasts this approach with other blockchain platforms like Ethereum, where privacy solutions often require additional layers, compromising composability. On Solana, privacy-enabled protocols can be seamlessly integrated with other applications, enhancing the overall ecosystem.

Jonas emphasizes that the applications of zero-knowledge proofs extend beyond private transactions. He suggests potential use cases such as building a battleship game or poker application, highlighting the versatility of this technology.

These advancements in zero-knowledge technology on Solana demonstrate the platform's commitment to privacy and its ability to support a wide range of innovative applications.

Minor Changes and Updates

The podcast covers several minor but noteworthy changes and updates within the Solana ecosystem:

1. GetTransaction RPC Call: A small breaking change has been implemented in the GetTransaction RPC call. The call will no longer return address lookup tables if set to null, which is the intended behavior. While Stephen Lucia suggests that this change shouldn't affect many users, developers are advised to check their implementations if they rely on this functionality.

2. Soling Compiler Update: A new version of the Soling compiler, 0.3.0 Venice, has been released. Soling allows developers to write Solidity smart contracts for Solana by compiling Solidity code to Rust or Anchor. This update marks a significant step in the maturation of Soling, making it easier for Solidity developers to transition to Solana.

Jacob mentions that the Solana Foundation's DevRel team is working on comprehensive documentation and examples to help developers get started with Soling. This initiative aims to reduce the learning curve for developers familiar with Solidity who want to build on Solana.

Open-Source Initiatives and AI Integration

The podcast highlights two significant developments in the Solana ecosystem that demonstrate the community's commitment to openness and innovation:

1. Form Functions Going Open-Source: Form Functions, a popular NFT marketplace on Solana, has announced that they are making their entire codebase open-source. This move is accompanied by extensive documentation that covers various aspects of the platform, including:

• How participation NFTs work
• Campaign mechanics
• Designing Form Functions 2.0
• Building your own NFT marketplace

This comprehensive resource allows developers to understand the intricacies of building and managing an NFT marketplace on Solana. It provides insights into the challenges Form Functions faced and how they overcame them, offering valuable lessons for the entire Solana developer community.

2. ChatGPT Plugin for Solana: NOAA from Solana Labs has developed a ChatGPT plugin that enables users to interact with the Solana blockchain through natural language queries. This innovative tool allows users to:

• Look up information about NFTs on Solana
• Retrieve details about specific blockchain addresses
• Potentially send transactions (a feature that is being developed)

Jacob expresses excitement about the potential of this plugin, noting that it opens up new possibilities for integrating Solana with AI technologies. Developers can build upon this foundation to create even more sophisticated interactions between ChatGPT (or other AI models) and the Solana blockchain.

Successful Release of Solana 1.14.17

The podcast concludes with a discussion of the successful release of Solana version 1.14.17. Jacob emphasizes that the smooth rollout of this update is a testament to the stability and reliability of the Solana network.

He states, "No one noticed that the release is going on, it got pushed out and now the cluster is running on 1.14.17. And that's what you want to see." This uneventful update process demonstrates the maturity of Solana's infrastructure and the team's ability to manage large-scale deployments effectively.

However, Jonas notes that Anchor developers might encounter some issues due to the removal of metadata V2 from the metadata program. He recommends checking the release notes and potentially pointing to the master version of Anchor to resolve these issues.

Looking ahead, Jonas mentions that Solana Labs has decided to skip version 1.15 and move directly to version 1.16. This new version is expected to be tagged soon and will include fixes for the issues mentioned earlier.

Conclusion

This episode of Solana Changelike provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the Solana ecosystem. From exciting opportunities for developers at Breakpoint to groundbreaking proposals for interfaces and zero-knowledge implementations, Solana continues to push the boundaries of blockchain technology.

The community's commitment to open-source development, as demonstrated by Form Functions, and the integration of AI technologies through the ChatGPT plugin showcase the innovative spirit that drives Solana forward. With successful network updates and a clear roadmap for future improvements, Solana is well-positioned to continue its growth and adoption in the blockchain space.

As the ecosystem evolves, developers and users alike can look forward to more efficient, secure, and feature-rich applications built on Solana. The ongoing discussions and collaborations within the community ensure that Solana remains at the forefront of blockchain innovation, addressing real-world challenges and creating new opportunities for decentralized applications.

Facts + Figures

• Breakpoint developer tickets are currently priced at $10, offering a significant discount for developers attending the Solana conference in Amsterdam.
• Metaplex has announced a plan to make their program immutable over the course of approximately 18 months.
• Several new interface proposals have been introduced, including SRC-15, SRC-10, SRC-12, and SRC-3, each offering different implementation approaches for Solana.
• A new keygen capability for generating zero-knowledge keys using the ElGamal curve has been added to Solana.
• The Unity SDK is exploring zero-knowledge implementations using the Light Protocol on Solana.
• Soling compiler version 0.3.0 Venice has been released, allowing developers to write Solidity smart contracts for Solana.
• Form Functions, an NFT marketplace on Solana, has made its entire codebase open-source and provided extensive documentation.
• A ChatGPT plugin for Solana has been developed by NOAA from Solana Labs, enabling AI-powered interactions with the blockchain.
• Solana version 1.14.17 has been successfully released and deployed across the network.
• Solana Labs has decided to skip version 1.15 and move directly to version 1.16, which is expected to be tagged soon.

Questions Answered

What are the requirements for obtaining a developer ticket to Breakpoint?

Developer tickets for Breakpoint are available to individuals who have open-source contributions on GitHub or any contributions to Solana projects. This includes developers working on Solana, other blockchain platforms, or even traditional web development. The tickets are currently priced at $10, offering a significant discount compared to regular tickets and making the conference more accessible to a wide range of developers.

What changes is Metaplex implementing to its program?

Metaplex has announced a plan to make their program immutable over the course of approximately 18 months. This transition aims to enhance security and reliability within the Solana ecosystem. Along with the immutability plan, Metaplex has also introduced some new fees. The specifics of these changes and their implications can be found in Metaplex's announcement on Twitter and their GitHub repository.

How do interfaces benefit the Solana ecosystem?

Interfaces on Solana allow for standardized function definitions that multiple programs can implement. This enables greater flexibility and interoperability between different applications on the network. For example, multiple token programs could implement the same transfer function, allowing for more innovation and reducing the risk associated with a single implementation. Interfaces also make it easier for developers to interact with various types of tokens and other programs on Solana, similar to how ERC standards function on Ethereum.

What new zero-knowledge capabilities are being introduced to Solana?

A new keygen capability for generating zero-knowledge keys using the ElGamal curve has been added to Solana. This differs from the standard wallet key pair that uses the ed25519 curve. Additionally, the Unity SDK is exploring zero-knowledge implementations using the Light Protocol on Solana. These advancements open up possibilities for privacy-preserving applications and extend beyond just private transactions to potential use cases like secure gaming implementations.

What is Soling and what does its latest update offer?

Soling is a compiler that allows developers to write Solidity smart contracts for Solana by compiling Solidity code to Rust or Anchor. The latest version, 0.3.0 Venice, represents a significant step in the maturation of this tool. It aims to make it easier for developers familiar with Solidity to transition to Solana development, potentially broadening the developer base for the Solana ecosystem.