© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
But he's on vacation, no wallet app open, just shooting you his email from his phone. Normally you'd be like "grab Phantom or something," right? But now? You can just blast SOL straight to his email. No addresses, no QR codes, no hassle. I do this all the time with freelance gigs-client emails me, I send 5 SOL, done in 30 seconds. The thing is, it's powered by services like Magic that turn emails into instant Solana wallets behind the scenes. Pretty slick. Why mess with copying 44-character monsters when email works?
In my experience, this saves so much back and forth. Especially if they're new to crypto. Sound familiar? Okay, let's get you set up to do it yourself. We'll use Magic because it's dead simple-no coding if you're just sending, and it handles the email magic (pun intended).
You need a Solana wallet with some SOL already. I usually rock Phantom or Solflare. Download Phantom if you don't have one-it's free on your browser extension or phone app.
Why Phantom? Super fast, shows balances instantly, and fees are like 0.000005 SOL per send. That's pennies. Seriously, last time I sent 1 SOL, fee was 0.00001 SOL total. Load it up from Coinbase or Kraken first if you're empty.
Got SOL? Good. Now the fun part.
Here's the secret: services like Magic create a "smart wallet" tied to any email. First time someone gets SOL to their email, it auto generates a Solana address just for them. They claim it with a one time code sent to.. you guessed it, their email. No apps needed upfront.
But you're sending, not receiving. So in your wallet or dApp, you pick "send to email" instead of pasting an address. Boom. It routes through Magic's system. Fees? Still Solana cheap, around 0.000005 SOL plus maybe a tiny relay fee like 0.3% max, but usually nada extra.
I tried this last week-sent 0.1 SOL to my alt Gmail. Got an email: "Claim your SOL." Clicked, entered OTP, and it was in my new Magic wallet. Transferred to Phantom no prob.
Okay, hands on time. This assumes Phantom, but works similar in others. If you're dev minded, skip to the code bit later.
What's next? Tell 'em to check inbox for "Your SOL is here" from Magic. They click, OTP verifies, SOL lands. If they don't claim in time? It sits safe till they do.
Look, it ain't perfect. First time I tried, typed wrong email. Duh. SOL didn't vanish-Magic holds it till correct claim. But cancel? Tough, non reversible like all blockchain stuff.
Another one: low balance. Always leave 0.01 SOL extra for fees. Network congested? Rare on Solana, but tx might take 5 secs instead of 1. Check status on solscan.io by pasting tx ID.
In my experience, biggest issue is folks ignoring the email. "Did you check spam?" I always ask. And double check email case-Gmail vs gmail.com matters.
Pro tip: Practice on devnet first. Airdrop free test SOL from Solana faucet. Send to your own junk email. Feels real without risk.
| What | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Solana gas fee | ~0.000005 SOL | Per tx. Super cheap. |
| Magic relay (if any) | 0-0.3% | Usually free for basics. |
| Claim OTP | Free | Receiver side. |
| Wallet swap later | ~0.00001 SOL | To move to Phantom. |
See? Way under a cent usually. Beats ETH gas any day.
Regular way: "Send me your address." They fumble Phantom, copy wrong thing, you paste, send, pray. Email? Just type john@gmail.com. No apps for them upfront. Perfect for normies.
But honestly, for pros like us? Still handy for quick tips or family. Grandma wants SOL for Christmas? Email it. She claims via link, no seed phrases.
One catch: Not every wallet supports it native yet. Phantom's adding soon ish. Till then, Magic web app bridges perfect.
Me? I built a little Next.js page for this. Uses Magic SDK. Here's the gist-copy if you want.
First, npm install @magic ext/solana @solana/web3.js. Then:
import { Magic } from 'magic sdk';
const magic = new Magic('YOURAPIKEY', { extensions: [new SolanaExtension({ rpcUrl: 'https://api.mainnet beta.solana.com' })]
}); // Login (for sender, but skip if wallet connected)
await magic.auth.loginWithEmailOTP({ email: 'sender@example.com' }); // Build tx
const tx = new Transaction().add( SystemProgram.transfer({ fromPubkey: fromKey, toPubkey: await magic.solana.getPublicKey(), // or recipient email resolves lamports: 1000000_000n * BigInt(amount) // 1 SOL })
); const signed = await magic.solana.signTransaction(tx);
const sig = await connection.sendRawTransaction(signed.rawTransaction);
Adapt for email recipient: Magic resolves email to pubkey auto. Test on devnet. Boom, your own "email SOL" button.
Takes 10 mins to hack together. I use it for client invoices now.
Over 10 SOL? Split into chunks. Why? Less risk if something glitches. Always test with 0.001 first-like the practice exercise.
Taxes? Yeah, US folks, track sends over $600. Use solscan for receipts. Irreversible? Yep. Wrong email = support ticket hell.
And security: Never share seed. Magic emails are end to end encrypted claims. Solid.
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| "Insufficient funds" | Add 0.01 SOL buffer. |
| Tx pending forever | Check solscan.io with sig. Resend if failed. |
| Receiver no email | Spam folder. Resend small test. |
| Devnet vs mainnet mixup | Double check RPC URL. |
Freelance tip: Pin a "SOL to email" bookmark with your Magic page. Clients love it.
Cross chain? Send SOL, they swap to ETH via Jupiter. Fees still tiny.
Honestly, this changes everything. No more "wrong network" disasters. Just email. Try it tonight-send yourself 0.001 SOL. You'll be hooked.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.