At Cakes On Solana we have a number of deep thinkers builders and tinkerers from the web3 and crypto space. This is our first article (of many) from our community. @Investigator515 takes us inside Solarplex.

It’s not unreasonable to say that for many people the concept of big data can be exhausting. Firstly, many people aren’t quite sure what’s collected and beyond that, the management process of a data breach can be more than a little intimidating for those who haven’t dealt with that before. As such, the concept of big data exists. A concept where we expect our data to be collected, stored and eventually breached with little or no control of the process. Facebook, Instagram and X have all had issues with data breaches and it’s a problem that seems to be getting worse rather than improving.

One of the concepts that we see aligning closely with this issue is a lack of consequences when such a data leak or breach occurs. While places like the European Union have tried to tackle this issue over the years, the reality is that it’s an ongoing and evolving issue. Right here right now though, the power is in the hands of the Web 2 tech companies. Even though creator programs exist to funnel dividends back to those who make the content, these rewards are typically pretty small in comparison to the data’s true worth.

When you look at this stuff contextually, you start to realise that the future of social media isn’t a great option when we stick with traditional Web2-based services. It’s almost like there is a space there for platforms that understand the importance of privacy as well as rewarding their users for both loyalty and engagement. Enter Web 3.

Why Web3 & SocialFi?

While the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain is still a new and evolving one, it’s also a space where experimentation can be king. During the early days this would often focus on decentralised finance (De-Fi) concepts however as things have evolved we also see new projects launched and attempted. One of these is the concept of Social-Fi. Fusing social media with decentralized finance, these platforms attempt to swing the benefits back to the creators. Promising true control over your data and the ability to market your content in the way that you see fit, If properly managed social-fi could well be the direction that social media is heading towards. In today’s world though, as creators, we’ll need to use and help develop these platforms.




In today’s article, we’ll be exploring some of these concepts by using Solarplex. An NFT-based platform on Solana, Solarplex allows the minting and delivery of Non-Fungible Tokens directly to users’ wallets. There are also plenty of Web3-based features to explore as well. Let’s check it out.

The Solarplex Platform

While the concept of Ethereum-based NFTs has already reached it’s peak the very concept of an NFT could itself be quite controversial depending on when you were looking at it. Initially striking fame via collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, they’d eventually become controversial for being little more than a digital JPG with little in the way of functionality tied to value.

Looking beyond the digital JPG concept though, the idea of an NFT could carry real-world uses to those willing to take the time to find realistic use cases. This meant that during the brainstorming phase, pretty much anything was on the table with logistics, property and even event ticketing being touted as future real-world use cases. Using the walk-before-run concept though means that realistic real-world usage is an essential step in the path and it’s this real-world usage that Solarplex is trying to integrate as a key part of its platform.



It’s a pretty simple concept. If you’re a digital artist then Solarplex aims to give you the means to mint, tip, promote and use your artwork in NFT format direct to your social feed and followers. This is a perfect overlap of the Cakes on Solana concept, as we’re looking to easily integrate our artwork into our social feeds AND find a way to easily reward and engage with our followers. This is no small task!

The User Interface

When you first sign up to Solarplex, you’ll find a strangely familiar interface. Despite the original registration being with a wallet, you’ll find the platform to be quite similar to other decentralised social media platforms like Bluesky Social, albeit with a few extra tabs.

It’s these creators tools that we are interested in, and when we look at Solarplex we can see a missions tab with the creator’s tools as well. While some of these missions focus on the Solarplex Platform, there’s also a way for creators to set missions as well. This could be anything from a daily check-in right through to minting an NFT collectible right in your feed.

This is a pretty great feature but one of the best things about it is it lets you precisely track your followers’ activity, helping you to identify who’s consistently engaging with your projects which is a pretty essential feature if you’re looking to apply engagement-based rewards.

In Feed Minting

If you’re already active on Solana you’re probably aware that high speed and low gas is one of the key selling points of the chain, and it’s these points that help leverage ideas into real-world use cases. Unlike Ethereum where gas can be killer and TX speed can bog down, Solana promises a quick and easy transaction that won’t cost you the world. The burning question is though, is this how the experience plays out on-chain? Let’s mint ourselves a slice of bad and see how it works out.

https://solarplex.xyz/profile/cakesonsol.live.solarplex.xyz/post/3kyetsnnxwg26


A slice of bad is one of the exclusive collectibles marketed by Cakes On Solana. You can get your own slice of bad by joining the Cakes On Solana project. Check out the link for more information.
We’ll mint our collectible using the wallet we joined with.


Once completed, the collectible will appear in your wallet. Minting was fast, with no issues seen.

Final Words

While it’s fair to say that it’s early stages for social-fi for many, finding functionality to justify these tools can often be part of the journey. While may people say they are in it “for the tech” we still tend to see people who aren’t fully aware of just how many projects are trying to tackle the concept of social-fi to provide a stable and ongoing solution. Friend.tech, Republik, Bulbapp, Publish0x & Grill are all social- fi contenders that have attempted to provide functional solutions to these problems, albeit at different levels.

The concept of an all-in-one solution for creators may still take some to come to fruition but for many creators, the reality could well be that platforms like Solarplex are able to provide much in the way of returning power to the people, right here, right now.
While we may never see some of the concepts touted as the end solution for real-world NFT use cases take hold, digital artists in particular will find much benefit in testing and adopting platforms like Solarplex as things continue to move through development.