Blinks: Revolutionizing Crypto UX with Teleportable Buttons

In a recent episode of the Unlayered podcast, hosts Sal and Dave sat down with Chris Osborn, one of the founders of Dialect, to discuss the groundbreaking Blinks protocol. This innovative technology is set to transform the way users interact with crypto applications by allowing seamless integration of on-chain actions into existing Web2 social media platforms. The conversation delved deep into the potential applications, second-order effects, and the future of this technology in the rapidly evolving world of Web3.

What are Blinks?

Blinks are a deceptively simple yet powerful primitive that allows developers to "teleport buttons across the internet." In essence, Blinks enable the sharing of product experiences everywhere, going beyond the traditional link-sharing model. While conventional links merely direct users to websites to perform actions, Blinks bring the product experience directly to where the link is shared.

Chris Osborn explained the concept: "Blinks let you teleport buttons across the internet. That's like the dumbest possible way that I can describe what a Blink is." This simplification belies the profound impact this technology could have on user interactions across the web, particularly in the crypto space.

The Evolution of Internet Sharing

To understand the significance of Blinks, it's crucial to consider the current state of internet sharing. Typically, when users share content from platforms like Spotify or crypto applications, they're sharing links that lead to sites where actions can be taken. This process often involves multiple steps and can be cumbersome for users.

Blinks aim to revolutionize this experience by allowing actions to be performed directly within the shared content. As Osborn puts it, "What Blinks do is they bring more of your product experience right into the place where you share the link."

Blinks in Action: Twitter Integration

The initial launch of Blinks focused on integration with Twitter, effectively bringing crypto functionality directly into the Twitter timeline. This integration allowed users to perform various crypto actions without leaving their Twitter feed, including:

• Swapping tokens through Jupiter
• Buying NFT floor prices via Tensor
• Voting on Helium governance

This seamless integration demonstrates the potential of Blinks to flatten the internet experience, reducing friction and increasing engagement with crypto applications.

The Vision Behind Blinks

The core vision driving the development of Blinks is to make internet interactions faster and more efficient. Osborn shared his longstanding obsession: "How can I just do things faster on the internet?" This desire for efficiency is at the heart of Blinks' design philosophy.

By flattening the action and bringing it directly to the call-to-action, Blinks aim to minimize the steps required for users to engage with crypto applications. This not only benefits businesses by streamlining user journeys but also caters to impatient consumers who want instant access to functionality.

Blinks and the Future of Web3

While the initial focus has been on crypto applications, the team at Dialect sees Blinks as a technology with potential far beyond the crypto sphere. As crypto infrastructure continues to expand its reach across the internet, Blinks are positioned to ride this wave of adoption.

Osborn envisions a future where Blinks could simplify everyday tasks: "I'll get an email telling me my credit statement is due... I want to flatten that and make it as fast and as easy as possible." This vision extends to various sectors, potentially transforming how users interact with a wide range of online services.

The Technical Foundation of Blinks

At its core, Blinks leverage the unique capabilities of crypto wallets as a new form of internet authentication. This allows for a more seamless and secure way of performing actions across different platforms. Osborn suggests that if we were to rebuild the internet from scratch today, technologies like asymmetric cryptography would likely play a much larger role in authentication processes.

The Blinks specification, owned by Solana, provides a foundation for Dialect to build upon as a technology company. This approach allows for open-source development while enabling Dialect to create valuable products and services on top of the specification.

Expanding Beyond Twitter

While the initial launch focused on Twitter integration, the team at Dialect is looking to expand Blinks to other platforms. However, their approach is measured, focusing on getting the experience right on one platform before rushing to others.

Osborn emphasized the importance of context in determining the success of Blinks: "The utility and usefulness and I think success of a Blink has less to do with Blinks technology and less to do with the team behind... But it has a lot to do with where it's being shared in the context."

Notable Use Cases

Several projects have already leveraged Blinks to create innovative user experiences:

1. Baxxis, a collectible spirits project, used Blinks for a successful NFT sale, generating over $75,000 in revenue from a single tweet.
2. A free NFT mint that utilized Blinks saw explosive growth, topping all chains for 24-hour trading volume.
3. Influencers like the Three Land team and Super Based have created unique experiences using Blinks.

These examples demonstrate the versatility of Blinks and their potential to drive engagement and transactions in various crypto niches.

Blinks and Web3 Native Platforms

While social media integration has been the initial focus, Dialect is particularly excited about bringing Blinks to more Web3 native platforms. For example, the NFT platform Drip has natively integrated Blinks into their experience, allowing for seamless trading and minting actions directly within their interface.

This integration showcases how Blinks can enhance the user experience on platforms already tailored for crypto enthusiasts, potentially leading to higher engagement and more streamlined transactions.

The Future of Blinks: AI Integration and Beyond

One of the most intriguing aspects of Blinks is their potential integration with AI agents. As AI becomes more prevalent in the crypto space, Blinks could serve as a natural interface for these agents to interact with users and perform actions on their behalf.

Osborn envisions a future where AI agents could leverage Blinks to provide personalized recommendations and execute complex actions across multiple protocols. This integration could significantly enhance the utility of AI in the crypto ecosystem, making it more accessible and user-friendly.

Blinks as a New SDK Primitive

Another exciting prospect is the potential for Blinks to become a new type of software development kit (SDK) primitive. By allowing developers to easily integrate complex crypto actions into their applications, Blinks could dramatically reduce development time and increase the proliferation of crypto experiences across various platforms.

Osborn explains: "What Blinks do is they allow the Jupiter team to put that on a server or the Drift team to put that on a server, you call a URL and in like three lines of code, you have a ready to sign transaction." This efficiency could lead to a explosion of new crypto applications and features across the web.

Challenges and Considerations

While the potential of Blinks is enormous, there are challenges to consider. The team at Dialect is navigating the complex landscape of web integration, balancing the need for seamless user experiences with the technical limitations of various platforms.

Additionally, as Blinks expand to more platforms, there may be questions about revenue sharing and platform control. Osborn addressed this, stating that future integrations with major platforms like Instagram would likely involve a revenue-sharing model, incentivizing platforms to adopt the technology.

Lessons from Dialect's Messaging App

The development of Blinks was informed by Dialect's earlier venture into decentralized messaging. While the messaging app is no longer actively maintained, it provided valuable insights into user behavior and the challenges of bootstrapping social products in the crypto space.

Osborn reflected on this experience: "Finding product market fit and bootstrapping a social product is insanely hard. It is insanely hard. And it's not really in our DNA at Dialect." This realization led the team to refocus on developer tools and the Blinks protocol.

The Role of Entertainment in Crypto Adoption

One key insight from Dialect's messaging app experiment was the importance of entertainment in driving crypto adoption. Osborn noted that users engaged most deeply with features that provided fun and game-like experiences, such as trading collectible chat stickers.

This observation suggests that future successful crypto applications may need to prioritize entertainment value alongside utility to gain traction with users.

Blinks and the Future of Social Fi

The conversation touched on the potential for Blinks to play a role in the evolving social fi landscape. With Solana well-positioned to capitalize on the next wave of social fi innovations, Blinks could serve as a crucial tool for integrating financial actions into social experiences.

Osborn expressed excitement about projects like Pumped on Fun and Meme Royale, which are exploring new ways to combine social interactions with financial incentives. These experiments could pave the way for more innovative uses of Blinks in the social fi space.

The Importance of User Experience

Throughout the discussion, a recurring theme was the critical importance of user experience in driving crypto adoption. Osborn emphasized that users typically optimize for ease of use rather than ideological considerations like decentralization or privacy.

This insight is guiding the development of Blinks, with a focus on making crypto actions as frictionless and intuitive as possible. By prioritizing UX, Blinks aim to lower the barriers to entry for new users and increase engagement among existing crypto enthusiasts.

Blinks and Mobile Wallets

One area of particular interest for the Dialect team is the integration of Blinks with mobile wallets. Given the significantly larger user base of mobile wallets compared to typical dApps, this integration could dramatically increase the reach and impact of Blinks.

Osborn envisions scenarios where new mobile wallet users could be seamlessly introduced to various crypto activities through Blinks, such as earning yield on their holdings or participating in token launches. This could serve as a powerful onboarding tool for the broader crypto ecosystem.

The Technical Architecture of Blinks

At a technical level, Blinks operate as a service-based architecture for the construction and delivery of transactions. This approach allows developers to integrate complex crypto actions into their applications with minimal code, potentially reducing development time by orders of magnitude.

Osborn explains: "It is truly, I say greater than a 10x speed up in your development time for integrating these remote experiences." This efficiency could lead to a proliferation of new crypto applications and features across various platforms.

Privacy and Security Considerations

While the conversation focused primarily on the benefits and potential applications of Blinks, it's important to consider the privacy and security implications of this technology. As Blinks enable more seamless interactions across platforms, ensuring the security of user data and transactions will be crucial.

The use of wallet-based authentication provides a strong foundation for security, but as the technology evolves, ongoing attention to privacy and security concerns will be essential.

The Role of Blinks in Crypto Education

One intriguing potential application of Blinks is in crypto education. By allowing users to interact with crypto applications directly within familiar interfaces, Blinks could serve as a powerful tool for introducing new users to blockchain technology and decentralized finance.

This educational aspect could be particularly valuable as the crypto industry continues to seek ways to expand its user base and increase mainstream adoption.

Blinks and the Composability of Web3

The Blinks protocol aligns closely with one of the core promises of Web3: composability. By allowing different applications and protocols to seamlessly interact, Blinks could enhance the interconnected nature of the crypto ecosystem.

Osborn noted: "One of them is composability. And we haven't delivered on it because it's not easy enough to do." Blinks aim to address this challenge by making it simpler for developers to integrate various crypto functionalities into their applications.

The Future of Decentralized Social Media

While Dialect has shifted away from its earlier focus on decentralized messaging, the conversation touched on the broader landscape of decentralized social media. Osborn expressed skepticism about the immediate demand for fully decentralized messaging solutions, noting that users tend to prioritize convenience over ideological considerations.

However, he acknowledged that unforeseen events, such as regulatory crackdowns, could potentially drive demand for more private and decentralized communication platforms in the future.

Blinks and the Evolution of SDKs

One of the most exciting prospects for Blinks is their potential to revolutionize the way developers integrate crypto functionality into their applications. By providing a more streamlined alternative to traditional SDKs, Blinks could significantly reduce the complexity and time required to add crypto features to existing platforms.

This could lead to a new wave of crypto-enabled applications across various sectors, potentially accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology in mainstream software development.

The Importance of Community Engagement

Throughout the discussion, Osborn emphasized the importance of community engagement in shaping the future of Blinks. The team at Dialect is actively seeking input from developers, product managers, and founders to understand how Blinks can best serve their needs.

This collaborative approach reflects the open and community-driven nature of the crypto ecosystem, and could be key to ensuring that Blinks evolve in ways that truly benefit the broader Web3 community.

Blinks and the Future of Internet Interaction

Looking to the future, Osborn painted a vision of how Blinks could fundamentally change the way we interact with the internet. By "terraforming" the internet and introducing a new paradigm for sharing and interacting with content, Blinks have the potential to reshape user experiences across the web.

While the initial focus is on the crypto ecosystem, the long-term vision for Blinks extends far beyond, potentially influencing how all online interactions are structured and executed.

Conclusion: The Transformative Potential of Blinks

As the conversation with Chris Osborn demonstrated, Blinks represent a significant leap forward in the evolution of crypto user interfaces and interactions. By allowing for seamless integration of crypto actions across various platforms, Blinks have the potential to dramatically lower barriers to entry, increase user engagement, and accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology.

While challenges remain, particularly in terms of platform integration and user education, the vision behind Blinks aligns closely with the broader goals of the Web3 movement. As the technology continues to evolve and find new applications, it could play a crucial role in shaping the future of how we interact with both crypto applications and the broader internet ecosystem.

For developers, product managers, and founders in the Solana ecosystem and beyond, Blinks offer an exciting new tool for creating more engaging and user-friendly crypto experiences. As the technology matures and finds its way into more applications, it will be fascinating to see how it transforms the landscape of decentralized finance, social fi, and beyond.

Facts + Figures

• Blinks allow for the teleportation of buttons across the internet, bringing product experiences directly to where links are shared.
• The initial launch of Blinks focused on Twitter integration, allowing users to perform crypto actions directly within their Twitter timeline.
• Baxxis, a collectible spirits project, generated over $75,000 in revenue from a single Blink-enabled tweet.
• A free NFT mint using Blinks topped all chains for 24-hour trading volume shortly after launch.
• Dialect's earlier messaging app experiment showcased the potential for gamified economies within crypto applications.
• The Blinks specification is owned by Solana, with Dialect building technology on top of it.
• Blinks can potentially reduce development time for integrating crypto experiences by more than 10x.
• Drip, an NFT platform, has natively integrated Blinks into their experience.
• Mobile wallets have 100 to 1000 times more monthly active users compared to the average dApp.
• Dialect is actively seeking partnerships and input from the community to further develop Blinks technology.

Questions Answered

What are Blinks?

Blinks are a technology that allows developers to "teleport buttons across the internet." They enable the sharing of product experiences directly within shared links, allowing users to perform actions without leaving the platform where the link is shared. Blinks go beyond traditional link sharing by bringing the full functionality of an application to the point of interaction.

How do Blinks work on Twitter?

Blinks on Twitter are currently implemented through Chrome extension wallets like Phantom and Backpack. When a user with these extensions enabled encounters a Blink URL on Twitter, the extension modifies the Twitter interface to add the Blink functionality. This allows users to perform actions like swapping tokens or buying NFTs directly from their Twitter timeline without leaving the platform.

What are some successful use cases of Blinks?

Several projects have successfully utilized Blinks. Baxxis, a collectible spirits project, generated over $75,000 in revenue from a single Blink-enabled tweet. Another example is a free NFT mint that used Blinks and saw explosive growth, topping all chains for 24-hour trading volume. Additionally, the NFT platform Drip has natively integrated Blinks into their experience, allowing for seamless trading and minting actions.

How can Blinks benefit developers?

Blinks offer developers a way to integrate complex crypto actions into their applications with minimal code. This can potentially reduce development time by more than 10x compared to traditional SDK integrations.

What is the future potential of Blinks?

The future potential of Blinks extends beyond crypto applications. They could potentially reshape how we interact with the internet as a whole, flattening user experiences and making actions more immediate across various platforms. There's also potential for integration with AI agents, allowing for more sophisticated and personalized user interactions in the crypto space and beyond.