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Atharva_404

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Free Lunch? Nah, Just Free Gas": The Art of Sponsoring Transactions on Aptos

Picture this: You're at a blockchain party 🔥 (yes, that's a thing now, keep up!), and everyone's talking about their cool NFTs and DeFi gains. Suddenly, you overhear someone say, "I love Aptos! It lets me sponsor transactions on its Layer-1 network!" You nod sagely, pretending you totally know what they're talking about, while secretly wondering if "sponsoring transactions" is some new crypto slang for buying everyone a round of drinks.

Now, you might be thinking, "Great, another Web3 concept I need to wrap my head around. 🗣️" Don't worry, it's not as complicated as explaining blockchain to your grandma. In fact, it's pretty straightforward: transaction sponsorship is just a fancy way of saying " I'll pick up the tab " in blockchain-speak.

Aptos Sponsored Transaction in this Blog

In this guide, we're going to break down:

  • What exactly transaction sponsorship is (spoiler: it's not about getting your logo on a race car)
  • Why you might want to sponsor transactions (hint: it's not just because you're feeling generous)
  • How to actually do it without accidentally sponsoring the entire network's coffee habit 🍵

So, whether you're a developer looking to make your dApp more user-friendly, or just a crypto enthusiast who wants to understand why some transactions seem to happen for free, stick around. We're about to dive into the world of Aptos transaction sponsorship on its Layer-1 network – no pocket protector required.

What's the Big Deal?

Imagine you're throwing the hottest blockchain party in town (again with the blockchain parties, I know), but there's a cover charge. Some of your friends are like, "Ugh, I left my wallet in my other crypto wallet." That's where you, the magnanimous host, step in and say, "It's cool, I'll cover it." That's essentially what transaction sponsorship on Aptos is all about.

In more nerdy terms 🤓:

Transaction sponsorship allows one account (the sponsor) to pay the gas fees for another account's transaction. It's like having a rich uncle, but instead of buying you a car, he's paying for your blockchain operations. Way less cool, but infinitely more useful in the Web3 world.

Why Would Anyone Do This?
Good question! Are sponsors just really nice people with too much Aptos coin burning a hole in their digital pockets? Well, sometimes, but usually there's a method to the madness:

1. Onboarding Newbies: Remember when you first dipped your toes into Web3 development and everything was confusing and expensive? Sponsors can help newbies get started without worrying about gas fees. It's like those "Kids Eat Free" promotions but for blockchain transactions.

2. Promotional Perks: Businesses might sponsor transactions as a way to attract users. "Use our dApp, and we'll cover your first 10 transactions!" It's the blockchain equivalent of a free toaster for opening a bank account.

3. Smoother User Experience: Some dApps might sponsor transactions to make their app feel "gasless" to users. It's like those "all-inclusive" resorts, but instead of unlimited mojitos, you get unlimited(ish) transactions.

Sponsored Transactions on Aptos thinking men sleeping with girl

Time to get Your Hands Dirty 🔥

Alright, it's time to put on your sponsorship capes and dive into some actual code. Don't worry, we won't be writing smart contracts in Move Programming (the language used by Aptos Blockchain) or anything scary like that. We'll be using TypeScript because let's face it, JavaScript is the glitter of the programming world – it gets everywhere, whether you want it to or not 🧑🏼‍💻.

Step 1: Setting the Stage

First things first, we need to import our superhero toolkit:

import {
    Account,
    Aptos,
    AptosConfig,
    Network,
} from "@aptos-labs/ts-sdk";
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Step 2: Creating Our Cast of Characters
Here, we're creating our blockchain soap opera cast. Alice, Bob, and Carol – the eternal triangle of cryptographic examples. Alice will be our sender, Bob our generous sponsor, and Carol... well, Carol's just happy to be included.

const config = new AptosConfig({ network: Network.TESTNET });
const aptos = new Aptos(config);

let alice = Account.generate();
let bob = Account.generate();
let carol = Account.generate();
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Step 3: Building the Transaction

This is where we craft our sponsorship magic spell. We're telling Aptos, "Hey, Alice wants to send 100 magic internet money units to Carol, but someone else might foot the bill." That withFeePayer: true is like leaving the "who's paying?" question open at a restaurant.

const transaction = await aptos.transaction.build.simple({
    sender: alice.accountAddress,
    withFeePayer: true,
    data: {
        function: "0x1::aptos_account::transfer",
        functionArguments: [carol.accountAddress, 100],
    },
});
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Step 4: Signing the Transaction

Now, both Alice and Bob need to sign this transaction. It's like when you're splitting the bill, but your friend insists on paying the tip. Alice signs to say "Yes, I want to send this money," and Bob signs to say "Yes, I'll cover the gas... I mean, transaction fee."

const aliceSenderAuthenticator = aptos.transaction.sign({
    signer: alice,
    transaction,
});
const bobSenderAuthenticator = aptos.transaction.signAsFeePayer({
    signer: bob,
    transaction
});
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Step 5: Submitting the Transaction

This is where we actually send our transaction out into the wild world of the blockchain. It's like hitting "send" on that email you spent way too long crafting, but with more cryptographic certainty.

const committedTransaction = await aptos.transaction.submit.simple({
    transaction,
    senderAuthenticator: aliceSenderAuthenticator,
    feePayerAuthenticator: bobSenderAuthenticator,
});
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Step 6: Waiting for Results

const executedTransaction = await aptos.waitForTransaction({ transactionHash: committedTransaction.hash });
console.log(executedTransaction);
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You can read more about it here.

And now we play the waiting game. It's like watching paint dry, if the paint was invisible and worth potentially millions of dollars. Once it's done, we'll get a play-by-play of our transaction that's more detailed than a sports commentator on espresso ☕.

Iron man, doctor doom meme aptos sponsored transaction

Congratulations! 🎊 You've just sponsored a transaction on Aptos, using its Layer-1 blockchain infrastructure. You can now add "blockchain sugar daddy" to your LinkedIn profile. (Just don't expect any thank-you cards from the nodes processing your transaction 👀). And remember, while you're out there making it rain gas fees, your wallet might start feeling a bit lighter.

Think of it as a crypto diet – lose weight, gain street cred 🥫.

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Atharva_404

As always, your likes are
HUGELY APPRECIATED!