A Beginners guide to the Solana eco-system

Good morning/evening.

This is my entry for the Solana scribes getting started guide.
https://earn.superteam.fun/listings/hackathon/best-ecosystem-getting-started-guide/
 
Today I am going to write about Solana, and hopefully a nice easy guide to get you started, but fear not because if I can do it anyone can!
 

 
Why is Solana my favorite ecosystem/chain?
They have everything on Solana, not only is it fast and easy to use, the fees are almost non--existent, there are great DEX's (Decentralised exchanges), easy to use apps for staking and buying or selling NFT's. Even a great blogging site where you can write or even just read to earn. The POH (Proof Of History) chain has robust security protocols. Solana has everything you could want. There is a saying in the community that is 'Only possible on Solana'.
 
To get started you will need to get a wallet and fund it with some SOL.
You will need a very small amount of SOL for gas and a minimum balance of 0.00089088 SOL which is around $0.10.
 
GETTING A WALLET
 
First things first though, if you want to explore Solana first you will need a wallet, This will be where you can store your crypto, swap different tokens and sign transactions.
My favorite is Phantom wallet but there are many to choose from including Solflare.
Make sure you use the official site and download the version you would like /https://phantom.app/
Once you have downloaded the wallet you will need to :-
 
 
1, Select new wallet
2, Create a password 
3, Re-enter the password and continue
4, Now you will be shown 12 words, these are your 'seed phrase words' or recovery phrase. You will need to store these safely, preferably not on your phone or laptop. If you lose these words you can lose access to your wallet and all funds on it. These words should NEVER be shared, even support will never ask for your seed phrase.
 
Now you will need to add some funds into your wallet, you can do this by either sending crypto from a Centralised exchange or using moonPay or Coinbase pay.
 
 
 
1, Open up your Phantom wallet
2, Click buy
3, Choose SOL or USDC
4, Choose an amount.
5, Enter your details.
 
 
 
If you are sending crypto from a CEX (Centralized exchange ie: Kucoin, Binance or Coinbase) you will need to deposit crypto.
1, Open up your Phantom wallet
2, Click deposit
3, Choose the token to deposit, ie: SOL. If you do not see the token you wish to deposit, use the search feature at the top of the app. For the rest of the exercise I will use SOL as the example to keep things simple.
4, Copy the address for SOL 
5, Go to your exchange and select withdraw.
 
 
 
6, Paste the address from your Phantom wallet into the searchbar and make sure the token you are withdrawing is on the right network/chain ie: Solana.
 
 
 
7, Once confirmed your funds will arrive in your wallet.
 
EXPLORING THE SOLANA ECOSYSTEM
 
Now the fun part really begins, there is so much on the Solana ecosystem and with Phantom it is easy to explore.
 
 
The $ sign shows you how much of each token you have
The 4 squares show your collectables
The 2 arrows are the swap function (swapping USDC to SOL)
The lightning bolt shows your recent transactions
The globe has apps for the Solana ecosystem, including NFT market places, staking apps and a content hub for up to date information.
 
 
 
 You can now click on the app you want or type it into the search bar. Personally, my goto is Kamino.
 
KAMINO FINANCE
 
Here you can borrow and lend (supply) your tokens with one simple click. Earning you yield as well as bonus tokens on some pairs (I have been earning MYRO and BONK tokens)
This is just a small selection of tokens you can borrow or lend.
 
 
 
 
LIQUIDITY PAIRS
 
 Liquidity pairs. These can again be a simple and easy click where you can add just a single token. You are supplying liquidity to the Solana DEX's.
These pairs automatically rebalance to give you the best possible yield. There are many more to choose from.
 
 
There is a risk dashboard so you can be sure your positions are good as well as details on all the strategies. Kamino has been fully audited and has a really active community. (Be sure to use links from the official site).
It has a really great UI (User Interface) and is really easy to use. The dashboard shows you all your positions and your daily rewards.
 
SO MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM
 
This is just a small selection of things to explore on Solana.
There are many more dapps on Solana and you can explore all you want, whether it is finance, NFT's, games or even blogging, it is all on Solana. 
 
STEP FINANCE
https://www.step.finance/
A platform that visually shows all of your positions, LPs and farms associated with your wallet on 1 dashboard. Very easy to use and helps you to keep track of everything.
 
 
 
DRIP HAUS
https://drip.haus/
This is a platform for all types of artists. You can subscribe to artists you like and receive artwork in return. You get free daily droplets that you can then use to reward the artist. All you need to do is sign up, once you have done this you can start collecting your daily drips every 6 hours .
You will receive your NFT's and you can then use your drips to say thank you to the artist. 
 
MARGIN FI
https://app.marginfi.com/
A decentralized lending protocol that is a fully permissionless system built on smart contracts with great risk management. Here you have a safe and reliable platform for all your needs whether that is to borrow, lend or stake your tokens.
 
JUPITER DEX
https://jup.ag/
A DEX offering the best trading prices, with deep liquidity over a large number of tokens. As the price of cryptocurrencies can fluctuate quickly Jupiter searches through all the DEX's and routes to find you the best price for a token swap. It may even split up large trades into smaller ones to help you find a better price. This is all automated and takes second's. It will show you the total fee for all of these transactions which is normally very low.
As you can see from the picture it is as easy as putting in a token you want to swap and authorise the transaction in your wallet. 
 
MAGIC EDEN
https://magiceden.io/
An NFT marketplace.On Magic Eden,you can buy and sell Solana NFT's as well as from other chains, it is also a launchpad where NFT's can be minted.
 
SUNFLOWER LAND
https://sunflower-land.com/
A crypto game where you can farm crops and collect resources to expand and create a farming empire. You can earn SFL tokens by farming your crops and exchanging them at the in-game shop. You can either withdraw your tokens or use them to buy upgrades for your farm.
 
BULB APP
https://www.bulbapp.io/
Another great app on Solana where you can write articles to earn tokens. If you are not interested in writing you still earn tokens for reading and or commenting. There is a great Bulb community and it is growing, you can write about many things, not just crypto.
 
IN SUMMARY
I hope I have given you an introduction and some inspiration to have a look at the Solana eco system for yourself to enjoy. I love Solana and hope you do too! If you would like to keep up to date with Solana news there is a link here https://solana.com/news and community socials here https://solana.com/community
 
Thank you for taking the time to read my article.
 
 
 
 
 
https://solana.com/
https://twitter.com/solana
https://docs.kamino.finance/
https://risk.kamino.finance/
https://app.kamino.finance/liquidity
https://www.binance.com/en
https://cryptologos.cc/solana
https://www.step.finance/
https://docs.marginfi.com/marginfi-protocol
https://sunflower-land.com/
https://magiceden.io/faq
https://jup.ag/