Solana's Authorization Mechanism: How x402 Works Beyond EVM

Source: Dev.to

Why Solana Doesn’t Need ERC‑3009

On Ethereum, ERC‑3009 exists to solve two major pain points:

• Two‑step approval – the approve + transferFrom pattern requires two transactions.
• Gas payment – users must hold ETH to pay for gas.

Solana’s architecture inherently addresses both.

Atomic Multi‑Instruction Transactions

A single Solana transaction can contain multiple instructions that execute atomically:

const transaction = new Transaction()
  .add(createApproveInstruction(...))   // Approve
  .add(createTransferInstruction(...)); // Transfer

// Both execute in ONE atomic transaction
await sendAndConfirmTransaction(connection, transaction, [payer]);

Fee Payer Abstraction

On Solana, any account can pay the transaction fee:

const transaction = new Transaction();
transaction.feePayer = sponsorPublicKey; // Sponsor pays gas
transaction.add(transferInstruction);

This enables “gasless” experiences where users never need to hold SOL.

Solana’s Token Authorization Model

SPL Token Program Basics

Comparing EVM (ERC‑3009) vs Solana

Why Both Approaches Work for x402

Despite architectural differences, both achieve the same x402 goals:

• User doesn’t pay gas – facilitator covers fees
• Single user action – one signature/approval
• Trustless verification – cryptographic proof of intent
• Atomic settlement – all‑or‑nothing execution

Gasless Transfers on Solana

1. Fee Payer Sponsorship (Native)

const transaction = new Transaction();
transaction.feePayer = facilitatorPublicKey;
transaction.add(usdcTransferInstruction);

2. Kora Protocol

A service that converts SPL token fees to SOL—users pay in USDC and never touch SOL.

3. Octane

Open‑source gasless transaction relayer for token‑based fee payment.

USDC on Solana

References

• Solana Token Program Documentation
• Token‑2022 Extensions
• Circle USDC on Solana