Getting Started on Solana Blockchain- A Beginner’s Guide. | by Patience Igwe | Coinmonks | Feb, 2024

As a beginner, getting started on Solana blockchain can be extremely demanding and confusing hence, this is an all-in-one beginner’s guide on how to get started on the Solana blockchain but before we proceed, let us first understand what Solana blockchain is all about.

Solana was launched in 2020 by Solana Labs, which was founded by Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal in 2018. Anatoly Yakovenko observed that blockchain technology has witnessed a major half-hazard track on the major blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as they struggled to scale beyond 15 transactions per second worldwide when centralized payment systems such as Visa required peaks of 65,000 TPS.

In November 2017, Anatoly Yakovenko published a whitepaper describing Proof of History, a technique for keeping time between computers that do not trust one another. From Anatoly’s previous experience designing distributed systems at Qualcomm, Mesosphere, and Dropbox, he knew that a reliable clock makes network synchronization very simple. So, Anatoly set out to solve this problem which if successful, will make the blockchain 10,000 times faster.

Anatoly recruited Greg, Stephen, and three others to co-found a company, then called Loom, after which they rebranded to Solana. The name Solana originated from a nod to a small beach town North of San Diego called Solana Beach and on 16th March 2020, Solana’s first block was created and opened to the public. Ever since then, it has operated as a single global state machine, that is open, interoperable, and decentralized.

As a proof of stake blockchain, Solana is often referred to as the Ethereum competitor because, its high performance is utilized in several industries such as finance, payment infrastructure, gaming, and NFTs. Take a look at this article from Visa: A deep dive on Solana, a high-performance blockchain network

How to Position Yourself on the Solana Blockchain.

As a beginner, there are so many ways/things you can do to position yourself on the Solana blockchain, however, I would like to group them into 3 categories:

1. Transaction accumulators

2. Node validators and

3. Developers.

Transaction Accumulators

Transaction accumulators are those who perform a variety of transactions on the Solana blockchain. These transactions range from buying and selling, sending transactions to others, using Decentralized Applications (DAPPS), participating in DeFi activities, staking SOL, exploring NFTs, trading degens, etc.

Accumulating such transactions on Solana automatically qualifies you for certain opportunities such as community events, airdrop opportunities, etc.

Node Validators

Node validators form the backbone of Solana’s network. By processing transactions and participating in consensus, each validator helps make Solana the most censorship-resistant and highest-performance blockchain network in the world.

In return, they earn SOL for helping to secure the Solana blockchain. If you would like to run a node on Solana, check this out.

Developers
Developers are often referred to as builders. As a developer, you bring innovation such as Gaming, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Payments, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), etc, to the blockchain. Just in case you are a developer or you would like to build on the Solana ecosystem, here is a learning resource for developers.

Note: $SOL is the native token for the Solana ecosystem. This means that you need SOL for transactions and payment of gas fees on the Solana blockchain.

Having discussed so much, it’s time to get our hands into the Solana blockchain and for this, we will be exploring the transaction accumulators strategy.

Getting Started on Solana Blockchain

To get started on Solana, use the following steps.
1. Visit https://solana.com/, and scroll down to the bottom of the page

2. A the bottom of the page, select ecosystem. This will open a new page that consists of all the ecosystem projects on the Solana blockchain. Including the hottest projects, newest projects, popular projects and also, it will allow you to select projects based on their respective categories.

Unfortunately, you cannot interact with the Solana blockchain without a Solana-compatible wallet. Hence, we will be discussing Solana wallets next.

Introduction to Solana Wallets

A Solana wallet is a wallet built for the storage and transfer of Solana (SOL) tokens. Most Solana wallets support DeFi activities on Solana, such as swapping, bridging, staking, etc. There are two kinds of wallets for storing $SOL. They are Software wallets and Hardware wallets.

Software Wallets: Just like the name software wallet, these wallets come in the form of software applications and browser extensions. They are constantly connected to the internet and offer users convenience and ease of access when it comes to connecting to Decentralized Applications(DAPPS). Examples of this kind of wallet include:

• Phantom wallet
• Solflare wallet
• Sollet
• Math wallet

Hardware Wallets: These are physical wallets that are rarely connected to the internet. They offer a more secure way of holding the private keys to your Solana assets as they protect against malware. Examples: Ledger’s Nano X Solana wallet, SafePal X1 — Bluetooth Solana Wallet, Tangem wallet, etc.

For this article, we will be using Phantom Wallet.

Introducing Phantom Wallet

Phantom is a software wallet and browser extension that can manage digital assets on the Solana blockchain. To get started, let us start by downloading our phantom wallet.

How to download Phantom wallet

To download your wallet,

1. Visit: Phantom.app and select the browser in use.
2. Then follow the instructions on the browser extension store to add the phantom wallet extension.
3. Alternatively, you can download their mobile app for Android and iOS devices on the same web page.

Note: Always download the official extension or mobile app directly from the Phantom.app webpage to be safe. The process of setting up the desktop and mobile are similar so, we will be looking at the mobile version for now.

How to Set up your Phantom Wallet

To set up your wallet, you can do this either by creating a new wallet or by importing your existing wallet. In this case, we will be creating a new wallet in the following processes.

1. Download your phantom wallet (Remember we are using the mobile version).
2. Once you are done, open the app and select “Create New Wallet”.
3. Then create a secured password, which will be used for accessing the wallet on the current device, then click continue.
4. Here comes the most important part. Securing your secret recovery phrase, also known as seed phrase. You need to copy it out and store it in a secure location.

Once you are done backing up the recovery phrase, the wallet is set up and ready for use. This is the point where say: WELCOME TO SOLANA BLOCKCHAIN.

Note: This phrase grants full access to your wallet and all of it’s funds and it is the only way to recover a wallet if you’ve lost access to it. So make sure to store it in a store and secure location.

How to Purchase Crypto Directly on Your Phantom Wallet

To start using your new wallet, you will need to deposit some funds into it. To do this, you can either send from another wallet, buy from a centralized Exchange (CEX), or purchase crypto directly through the wallet. For now, let’s make some purchases.

To do this,
1. Click the BUY button in the wallet

2. Select the tokens and the amount you would like to purchase.

3. Choose an onramp provider such as Moonpay, to complete your purchase. These are third-party apps hence you need to log in or create an account with them to be able to buy.

Once you’re done, you should be receiving your newly bought crypto in your wallet in no time.

Also, check out the video guide below.

How to Transfer/Recieve Funds from Another Wallet or Exchange

1. Click on the deposit button.
2. Then search for SOL, ETH, or MATIC and select the token. This action will display the deposit address and its corresponding QR code. All you need is to click on the copy icon to copy the address to wherever you are sending funds, whether another wallet or from a centralized exchange (CEX), and proceed.

Note: If you are sending your wallet address to recieve funds from another person, ensure you are sending the right token address and it’s network.

How to Send Funds Out of Your Wallet

To send tokens out of your wallet to another wallet, you need to first:

1. Copy the receiving wallet address.

2. Then click on the send button on Phantom and search for the token you want to send.

3. Then paste the wallet address you copied earlier and enter the token you wish to transfer. Then click, “Next”.

4. Once you are done, click send to execute the transaction and you will receive a confirmation once the transaction is completed. You can also check the transaction progress directly on the Blockchain by clicking on the view transaction.

NOTE: Remember to verify the token amount and double-check the address and network before sending.

In Phantom, you can differentiate tokens available on multiple chains by their native token icons. However, native tokens like SOL, ETH, and MATIC will not have token icons pinned to them.

How to Mint an NFT with your Phone Camera- Phantom Camera Mint

This new feature on Phantom Wallet allows you to upload photos or videos and turn them into Solana NFTs. To do this,👍

1. Open your phantom mobile app and navigate to the collectibles tab.

2. Then click on the plus icon above and select Mint Collectibles. You can use the in-app camera to snap a picture, record a video, or even upload one from your camera roll. Note that you can only make a 15-second video.

3. Once you have uploaded your image or video, give your collectible a name and description, then hit mint.

Your photo or video will appear in your collectibles tab. And as a bonus, the Phantom will also reward you for trying out their camera mint feature with a commemorative NFT.

To claim it, follow the steps:
1. Go to the explorer tab

2. Tap the mint an nft quest and press start.

3. After completing your mint, tap claim your reward to recieve your commemorstive phantom collective.

Here comes the scary part: Losing access to your seedphrase.

How to Recover Your Seedphrase

Losing access to your seedphrase can be one of the worst things that could happen to you as a crypto user. However, you can still retrieve it especially if you still have access to your wallet app.

To do this:
1. Open your wallet homepage
2. Tap on the 3 horizontal lines at the upper left part of your wallet to show more options.

3. Select settings and click on account 1 or the name you have set for the wallet.

4. Click on the show secret phrase, input your password, and click next.

Phantom will display your wallet’s secret recovery phrase.

NOTE: If you lose access to both your wallet address and secret phrase, you cannot recover your wallet. So, it is always advisable to write out your seedphrase and keep it in a safe and secure location.

How to Recover an Existing Wallet.

To recover an existing wallet:

1. click on “I already have a wallet”.

2. Then enter your secret recovery phrase and

3. set up a new secure password.

It is also worth noting that Phantom allows you to create multiple accounts and wallets, which gives you the convenience of managing multiple wallet addresses all within one application.

Now that you have learned how to set up your phantom wallet and learned the basics of using the wallet, it’s time to explore all the decentralized applications (DAPPS) on the Solana blockchain. You can do this in two forms.

How to Explore DAPPS on Solana (Part 1)

1. Visit https://solana.com/ecosystem

2. Select any DAPP of your choice and

3. Connect your wallet to the DAPP
4. Sign the approval/ authentication message to link up your wallet

5. Start interacting.

How to explore DAPPS on Solana (Part 2)

1. Open your phantom wallet

2. Navigate to the browser icon. There, you would see some already listed DAPPS, which you can select your choice. You can also search/type the webpage of the DAPP you are looking for.

3. Connect your wallet

4. Sign the approval/ authentication message to link up your wallet

5. Start interacting.

Ensure you are on the correct webpage before connecting your wallet.

Summary:

Solana blockchain is the blockchain of the future, and the future is now. A network that is decentralized, fast, scalable, energy-efficient, and has zero (0%) net carbon impact is the best blockchain for mass adoption.

With this all-in-one beginner’s guide, I believe you will have a smooth ride in the Solana ecosystem. And so, this is me saying to you, WELCOME TO SOLANA!

If you find this guide useful, do well to save and share it for more views.

References

History of Solona Blockchain
Solona Blockchain
History of Solona Blockchain
Visa: A Deep Dive on Solana
Operating a Validator
Solana Developer Learning Resource
Top 8 Solana Wallets To Store Your SOL and Solana NFTs
Nano X Solana wallet
Tangem wallet
Phantom wallet
How to Set up Your Phantom Wallet, Step by Step
How to buy SOL on Phantom wallet
Mint the Moment
How to Explore DAPPS on Solana