Tech Talk: Solana Mobile / Solana Labs

With over 100,000 Seeker phones activated worldwide and more than $100 million flowing through its mobile ecosystem, Solana Mobile is making a compelling case for why crypto developers should prioritize mobile-first strategies. At Breakpoint 2025, Mike, the Developer Relations lead for Solana Mobile, unveiled new grants and hackathon opportunities while explaining why the Solana DApp Store represents prime real estate for crypto applications.

Summary

Top Projects

Lulo

Score: 7,586.13

Bonk

Score: 4,806.12

Sphere

Score: 2,544.42

Moonwalk

Score: 2,026.11

Solana Mobile is tackling one of crypto's most persistent challenges: the hostile relationship between traditional app stores and blockchain-based applications. Apple and Google's gatekeeping has forced many development teams to abandon mobile projects entirely, stifling innovation and preventing crypto from reaching mainstream mobile users—despite mobile accounting for 63% of all web traffic and 73% of e-commerce transactions.

The Seeker phone, launched in August, represents Solana Mobile's answer to these distribution problems. As a crypto-native device, it combines hardware-level wallet security with an alternative app store free from the 30% platform fees and restrictive policies that plague traditional app marketplaces. The ecosystem has already demonstrated significant traction, with over 200 published apps and more than one million app installs.

To accelerate developer adoption, Solana Mobile announced a new grants program covering tooling, SDKs, public goods, and app development. A second mobile hackathon is planned for Q1 2026, offering cash prizes and featured app store placement for winners. The team also emphasized that getting an app published doesn't require building from scratch—developers can convert existing Progressive Web Apps into Android applications using tools like Google's Bubblewrap in just two CLI commands.

Key Points

The Seed Vault: Hardware-Level Wallet Integration

The Seeker phone's most distinctive feature is the Seed Vault, a built-in hardware wallet that fundamentally changes how mobile crypto applications handle transactions. Unlike current mobile experiences that require jarring app switches or clunky wallet browser integrations, the Seed Vault provides a seamless signing experience that happens entirely within the application.

When a user initiates a transaction—demonstrated during the presentation using Jupiter's swap feature—the Seed Vault draws a bottom sheet overlay directly in the app. The user approves by double-tapping and confirming with their fingerprint, all without ever leaving the application context. Mike compared this to having "an Apple Pay API available at all times, but for crypto transactions." For developers, this represents a significant unlock: they can build sophisticated crypto features knowing users will have a consistent, secure signing experience across all Seeker applications.

The Solana DApp Store: Friendly Distribution for Crypto Apps

The Solana DApp Store serves as an alternative marketplace where crypto applications can thrive without the existential risk of app rejection. Traditional app stores have created an environment where developers cannot justify investing time into mobile apps if approval is uncertain, and where experimentation with crypto features risks losing distribution entirely.

The DApp Store eliminates these concerns by adopting crypto-friendly policies and removing the standard 30% platform commission. With over 100,000 active Seeker devices across multiple countries and a user base of crypto power users actively exploring new applications, the store offers developers access to high-signal users in a less competitive environment. Unlike Apple's App Store or Google Play, where apps compete against millions of alternatives, the DApp Store's 200+ app catalog means quality applications can achieve visibility far more easily.

Success Stories and Proven Distribution

Real-world results demonstrate the DApp Store's value proposition for developers. Moonwalk Fitness, a gamified daily fitness application, received 12,000 new user sign-ups in their first week after launching on the store, later achieving all-time highs for daily active users. Parena, a DeFi application providing yield on stablecoins, saw over 4,000 user deposits totaling more than $13 million across Seeker users during their launch period.

These success stories illustrate a consistent pattern: developers are finding that the Seeker user base represents an unusually valuable cohort of engaged, crypto-savvy users willing to try new applications and transact significant amounts. The feedback from development teams has been clear—the app store provides direct distribution to users who actively spend within the crypto ecosystem.

Building and Publishing: Lower Barriers Than Expected

The publishing process for the Solana DApp Store is intentionally straightforward. Since Seeker runs Android, developers can use any standard Android framework—Kotlin, React Native, Flutter, or others—that produces an APK. Testing doesn't require owning a Seeker device; any Android phone or emulator works, with Solana Mobile providing development tools like the mock wallet to simulate the Seed Vault signing experience.

Perhaps most surprisingly, developers with existing web applications can publish to the store without building a native app at all. Google's open-source Bubblewrap tool converts Progressive Web Apps into Android applications through just two CLI commands. The presentation highlighted Crypto Fantasy League as an example of a PWA-based app that looks and performs better than many native applications because the team optimized for mobile browsing. A new publishing portal provides a web-based interface for developer account creation, app submission, and review tracking.

Upcoming Developer Opportunities

Solana Mobile announced two major opportunities for developers to engage with the ecosystem. A new grants program will fund developer tooling, SDKs, public goods, and promising app ideas. The program includes an application form and a list of existing RFPs (Requests for Proposals) outlining specific areas where the team is seeking development work.

Additionally, a second mobile hackathon is scheduled for Q1 2026. Like the previous event, participants will compete for cash prizes and featured placement on the DApp Store—giving winners increased visibility to the entire Seeker user base. These initiatives signal Solana Mobile's commitment to growing the developer ecosystem and creating multiple pathways for teams to get involved.

Facts + Figures

• Mobile accounts for 63% of all web traffic and 73% of all e-commerce transactions, yet most crypto experiences remain desktop-only

• Over 100,000 Seeker phones have been activated across multiple countries worldwide

• More than 200 applications are currently published on the Solana DApp Store

• Over 1 million app installs have occurred through the DApp Store

• More than $100 million in economic activity has flowed through the Solana Mobile ecosystem

• Moonwalk Fitness received 12,000 new user sign-ups in their first week after launching on the DApp Store

• Parena saw over $13 million in deposits from more than 4,000 users during their launch

• The Seeker phone launched in August 2024 with built-in hardware wallet functionality

• The Solana DApp Store charges no 30% platform fee, unlike Apple and Google's app stores

• A new grants program has been announced covering tooling, SDKs, public goods, and app development

• A second mobile hackathon is planned for Q1 2026 with cash prizes and featured app store placement

• Progressive Web Apps can be converted to Android apps using Google's Bubblewrap tool with just two CLI commands

• The publishing portal provides a web-based interface for the entire app submission process

Top Quotes

• "Mobile accounts for 63% of all web traffic and 73% of all e-commerce transactions. I think at this point, most people understand that mobile is really important, and it should be part of a product strategy."

• "Apple and Google are gatekeepers to distribution, and they're hostile to crypto apps. This is a real problem for developers."

• "You can't justify time investing into a mobile app if you're not even sure it'll get approved, and you can experiment with crypto app ideas and crypto features if it'll risk your app's approval. So innovation suffers."

• "It's like having an Apple Pay API available to you at all times, but for crypto transactions."

• "And we think this is one of the best signing experiences on mobile today. There's no jarring app switches and no janky wallet browsers."

• "Unlike Apple and Google, where your app is buried alongside millions of other apps, on the app store, you're competing against a much smaller pool of apps to a higher signal group of users."

• "The feedback we've been getting from developers has been pretty clear. They see the app store as a valuable platform to grow the app and find direct distribution to spendy crypto power users."

• "Seeker is an Android phone, and so the app store takes Android apps. There isn't any special framework or operating system you need to build for. It's just Android development."

Questions Answered

What is the Seed Vault and why does it matter for crypto apps?

The Seed Vault is a built-in hardware wallet that comes with every Seeker phone, providing secure storage and transaction signing at the hardware level. For developers, this is transformative because any app on the device can connect to the Seed Vault and request signing with user approval, all without the user ever leaving the application. The signing experience appears as a bottom sheet overlay within your app—the user double-taps to approve and confirms with a fingerprint. This eliminates the jarring app switches and unreliable wallet browsers that currently plague mobile crypto experiences, giving developers a consistent, secure signing API comparable to Apple Pay but for crypto transactions.

Can I publish a web app on the Solana DApp Store without building a native mobile app?

Yes, you can publish a Progressive Web App (PWA) to the Solana DApp Store without building a native application from scratch. Google's open-source Bubblewrap tool converts PWAs into Android applications through just two CLI commands—init and build—generating an Android APK ready for submission. Crypto Fantasy League is an example of an app using this approach that looks indistinguishable from native apps because they optimized their PWA for mobile. This provides a fast path to the app store for teams with existing web applications who want to reach Seeker users without major development investment.

What makes the Solana DApp Store different from Google Play or Apple's App Store?

The Solana DApp Store was specifically built to be a friendly home for crypto applications, with no hostile policies toward blockchain-based features and no 30% platform tax on transactions. Traditional app stores have created an environment where crypto developers risk having their apps rejected or removed, making mobile development a risky investment. The DApp Store eliminates this uncertainty while offering access to over 100,000 crypto power users who are actively trying new applications. With only around 200 apps published, new applications face far less competition for visibility compared to the millions of apps on traditional stores.

What kind of results have developers seen from launching on the DApp Store?

Success stories demonstrate the store's value proposition clearly. Moonwalk Fitness, a gamified fitness app, received 12,000 new user sign-ups in their first week and later achieved all-time highs for daily active users. Parena, a DeFi yield application, saw over 4,000 user deposits totaling more than $13 million from Seeker users during launch. These results come from a user base that's unusually engaged and willing to transact—developers consistently report that the DApp Store provides direct distribution to high-value crypto users who actively spend within applications.

Do I need a Seeker phone to develop for the app store?

No, you don't need a Seeker device to develop and test applications for the Solana DApp Store. Since Seeker runs Android, you can build and test using any Android phone or even an Android emulator. Solana Mobile provides development tools like the mock wallet that simulate the Seed Vault signing experience, allowing you to test the complete user flow without hardware. Any standard Android development framework works—Kotlin, React Native, Flutter—as long as it produces an Android APK at the end.

How do I submit an app to the Solana DApp Store?

Solana Mobile recently launched a publishing portal website where developers can sign up for an account and handle the entire submission flow. The portal includes forms for entering app details, uploading screenshots and preview content, and submitting your APK. After submission, the Solana Mobile team reviews the app, verifying metadata accuracy and conducting a light QA check. If everything looks good, the app is approved and published to the store. The team has designed this process to be as frictionless as possible while maintaining quality standards.

What opportunities are available for developers interested in the Solana Mobile ecosystem?

Solana Mobile announced two major opportunities at Breakpoint. First, a grants program covering developer tooling, SDKs, public goods, and app ideas is now accepting applications at solanamobile.com/grants, where you'll also find a list of existing RFPs outlining specific areas the team wants to fund. Second, a mobile hackathon is planned for Q1 2026, offering cash prizes and featured placement on the app store for winners—giving successful developers increased visibility across the entire Seeker user base.