Wink (formerly Only1)

Wink (formerly Only1)

Wink is a creator economy platform built on Solana that connects fans directly with the creators they follow, eliminating the intermediaries that dominate traditional content monetization. Originally launched as Only1 — the first NFT-powered social platform on Solana — the project rebranded to Wink in early 2025 as part of a strategic push toward mainstream adoption. The rebrand came with a broader mission: not just serving crypto-native audiences, but bringing Web3's payment rails to the global creator market.

From Only1 to Wink

Only1 launched with a clear thesis: Solana's speed and near-zero fees make it the natural settlement layer for the creator economy. Where OnlyFans charges a 20% commission on every transaction and Patreon takes a similar cut, the Only1 architecture routes payments directly from fan wallet to creator wallet, peer-to-peer, with no platform intermediary holding or delaying funds. The rebrand to Wink retained this core architecture while broadening the product scope beyond content platforms toward an all-in-one fan engagement hub. As of October 2025, the project was actively publishing a Q4 "Tsunami" roadmap and running an ambassador program to onboard new creators.

Core Monetization Mechanics

Wink gives creators four primary revenue streams, each settled on Solana:

Passes are permanent lifetime memberships, limited in quantity and minted as tradeable NFTs. Unlike a typical subscription that must be renewed, a Pass is a one-time purchase that fans can resell on secondary markets. The limited supply creates scarcity, and tradability means early supporters may capture upside if a creator's audience grows.

Subscriptions operate on a familiar monthly recurring model, giving creators a predictable income base. Fans get continuous access to exclusive content while subscribed.

Pay-per-view content is delivered inside the platform's direct messaging layer. Creators attach a price to specific messages or media, and fans unlock them individually. This gives creators granular control over what they charge for without requiring a full subscription.

Tips and gifts let fans send direct financial appreciation at any time, with funds settling instantly into creator-controlled wallets.

All transactions are non-custodial. The platform does not hold funds in escrow; payments move directly between parties. For creators who work with managers or agencies, Wink supports multi-signature arrangements: a creator can delegate a percentage of earnings to a manager for a defined time period, with both parties required to approve any changes. This trustless structure removes the legal and personal-relationship friction that normally governs creator-manager contracts.

Fan and Discovery Tools

On the fan side, Wink lowers Web3 onboarding friction by allowing social login and auto-generating a Web3 wallet on signup. Payment options include credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, and transactions are gasless for end users. This design targets mainstream consumers who would not independently acquire SOL before interacting with the platform.

Content discovery runs through an AI explore engine powered by OpenAI CLIP technology, which provides semantic matching between fans and creator content rather than a simple follower feed.

The Ones NFT

Alongside the LIKE token, Only1 introduced The Ones — a limited-supply governance NFT collection. Holders gain elevated voting weight over platform decisions, including content moderation policies and development priorities. They also receive a permanent "OG" badge on their profile (no further The Ones NFTs will be minted), access to a members-only area called The Dojo, and the ability to submit and vote on platform proposals through a community board. The team cited connections to animators from Dragon Ball Z and One Piece as part of plans to create animated content tied to The Ones character art. The Ones NFTs occupy the governance tier above standard LIKE token staking.

LIKE Token

The platform's native utility token is LIKE, an SPL token on Solana with a maximum supply of 500 million. Approximately 395 million LIKE (79% of the maximum) were in circulation at the time of research, giving it a market capitalization of roughly $275,000 — a figure reflecting the token's steep decline from its September 2021 all-time high near $1.18. Three mechanisms are designed to support long-term token value:

• Buyback: A portion of platform profits funds periodic open-market purchases of LIKE tokens. Repurchased tokens are split between burning (permanent removal from supply) and redistribution as community incentives.
• Creator staking: Fans stake LIKE tokens to specific creators and earn APY from a dedicated staking pool. This ties token demand to creator popularity rather than to speculative trading alone.
• Seasonal airdrops: LIKE is distributed to active platform participants based on engagement, rewarding users who contribute to platform growth.

Solana as Infrastructure

The technical case for building on Solana is explicit in Wink's own engineering writing. To illustrate the cost difference, the team calculated that distributing tokens to approximately 900 investor addresses daily over a three-year vesting period would cost roughly $10 million on Ethereum at a conservative $10-per-transaction fee. The same operations on Solana cost $250. In a real production run, distributing tokens across 86,000 transactions cost the team $97. This cost profile makes micropayments and frequent token distributions economically viable at scale — a prerequisite for the tip, pay-per-view, and staking mechanics the platform depends on.

Team and Backing

Wink is led by CEO Leon Lee. The project raised approximately $4.8 million in total funding, with backers including Newman Capital (which led a $1.3 million strategic round), Alameda Research, Animoca Brands, Folius Ventures, and Modular Capital. The R&D entity operating under the project is Like Labs, which is developing an ecosystem of AI and blockchain products for the creator economy, all using the LIKE token as the common economic layer.

In 2022, the platform recorded $4 million in NFT launchpad sales, demonstrating early traction in the Solana NFT cycle before the broader market contraction.

Positioning and Outlook

Wink sits at the intersection of SocialFi and creator monetization, targeting the gap between centralized platforms that take large fee cuts and fully decentralized tools that are too complex for mainstream audiences. Its hybrid approach — non-custodial settlement rails beneath a consumer-friendly UX — is a reasonable structural answer to that problem. The platform's current scale remains modest relative to its ambitions, and the LIKE token market cap reflects the difficulty of bootstrapping a two-sided creator marketplace. The ongoing Tsunami roadmap (Q4 2025) and ambassador program indicate continued active development as the project works to convert its technical architecture into lasting creator and fan adoption on Solana.