Getting Started With Solana
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By Wendy’s Whitepaper Contributor: Bitty
Solana Ecosystem
Despite being in the Cryptosphere since mid-2020, Solana has seen a huge surge in both users and price since the beginning of 2021. The parabolic rise can be attributed to the DeFi craze and overall ease of use of the Solana blockchain. Today I’ll walk you through the basics of getting setup with a Solana wallet that can be used to interact with the SOL blockchain.
After obtaining SOL tokens from your preferred exchange, you’re going to want to create a wallet that is capable of interacting with the Solana blockchain. There are quite a few options but Sollet is a preferred wallet that is easy to use and capable of swapping ERC20 tokens from Ethereum network to the Solana blockchain. Although, with Ethereum gas prices through the roof it will be more cost effective for you to transfer from an exchange until gas prices subside. To create a wallet, simply go to Sollet.io and follow the instructions on the screen. It is imperative that you notate your backup phrase and utilize a secure password to protect your funds. You can also use a Ledger device to store your funds. One thing that may catch you off guard compared to Metamask is that you will not need a browser extension with Sollet wallet to interact with the many DEX’s/Farms on the chain.
Now that you have a wallet and funds, its time for the fun stuff!
Raydium functions in many capacities including a AMM, Farms, Pools, Staking, Launchpad (called AcceleRaytor), and an exciting feature that allows you to farm dual rewards called Fusion farms. Most of these features are similar to the many AMM’s/Farms you’ve seen on other blockchains but Fusion farms are a refreshing change to standard yield farming. On the Fusion tab of the Raydium website you will find the ability to provide liquidity in their pools while earning rewards in two different tokens. For example, if you provide liquidity and stake your LP tokens in the OXY-RAY Fusion pool then you will earn rewards for both OXY and Ray.
Also living within the Solana ecosystem is the Serum DEX. When you first look at the setup, you’ll immediately think you’re using a standard centralized exchange. So what is the benefit of using Serum over an AMM? You can set many different order types instead of having to essentially market buy. Most of the larger cap coins on the Solana blockchain are included in the Serum DEX.
This is a newer project in the ecosystem and has yet to launch farming pools but is definitely worthwhile to take a look at as it will be a platform for IDO’s (Initial Dex Offering). Their platform will allow projects to be vetted out before launch and ensure that projects are not launching without funding. Think of this as a way to learn about new projects coming into the space.
If you are active on Twitter please be wary of airdrops asking for personal information. Use your best discretion when entering information for potential airdrops.
To set up a Solana wallet Solape has a great step by step tutorial