To use Photon, go to photon-sol.tinyastro.io, connect your Phantom wallet, click Generate to create a Photon trading wallet, save the private key it shows you once, then deposit SOL and trade from a token's page. This guide follows Photon's official docs, checked September 26, 2026.
Risk notice: Crypto trading is high risk and memecoins can go to zero in minutes. Trading bots use hot wallets. This page is not financial advice; only trade what you can afford to lose.
For our full take, read the Photon review (it scores 6.9/10) or compare Axiom vs Photon. We did not trade on Photon for this guide; each step comes from the linked docs.
Before you start
- Bookmark the real URL. Photon's address is photon-sol.tinyastro.io. Photon Guides reports clone sites that drain wallets, so never reach Photon through an ad or DM.
- Have Phantom ready. Photon's sign-up uses a Phantom wallet as your "funding wallet".
- Plan where the key goes. You'll see your trading wallet's private key once. Have a safe offline place to write it down.
Step 1: Connect Phantom and generate a wallet
Per the Photon on SOL docs, visit the site "and connect with Phantom wallet." On first login you see a welcome screen. "Once you click on the Generate button, a new wallet will be generated for you."
This new wallet is your Photon trading wallet. It is separate from the Phantom wallet you signed in with, which Photon calls your funding wallet.
Step 2: Save the private key (you only see it once)
This is the step people skip and regret. The docs say: "Your private key will be revealed ONLY ONCE at this step. Please take a moment to save your private key in a safe place before clicking 'Continue.'" You use a slider to reveal it.
Photon Guides quotes Photon as having "no way of granting you access to the site if you lose access to, or control of, your Wallet." Write the key down offline and keep it private.
Step 3: Deposit SOL
From the docs: "You can specify any SOL amount to deposit from your funding wallet to your Photon trading wallet. Once you click 'Deposit', you'll be able to confirm and complete the transaction from your funding wallet."
Start small. Deposit enough for a test trade, the fees and a test withdrawal.
Step 4: Set up your trading presets
Photon's settings page lets you create "up to 3 different trading profiles (S1/S2/S3) to adjust your smart-mev protection, priority, bribe and slippage settings." Each preset covers:
| Setting | Photon's definition |
|---|---|
| Slippage | "How much more/less tokens you'll receive from a trade due to price volatility" |
| Priority fee | "Additional fee made to have your transaction completed faster" |
| Bribe (Jito tip) | Goes "directly to the JITO validators to incentivize them to pick up and confirm your transactions" |
| Smart-MEV | Protection mode for the preset |
A common setup is one cautious preset (MEV on, modest slippage) and one faster preset for very new tokens. Background: Solana priority fees and slippage.
Step 5: Understand Smart-MEV modes
Photon's Smart-MEV page describes two modes that route your transaction based on the bribe you set:
- Fast mode: bribes under 0.001 SOL go directly to Jito; above that, to Photon's partner bloXroute.
- Secure mode: the threshold is 0.002 SOL.
There are also two speed options. Default Speed uses your global settings; Auto Speed adjusts priority and bribe "based on recent transactions that were successful."
The docs don't claim either mode makes you immune to sandwich attacks. For what MEV protection can and can't do, see Solana MEV protection explained.
Step 6: Find a token and buy
Photon's feeds include the Live Pairs Feed, a trending page and the Memescope screener. On a token's page you can watch the chart while "always having access to the Quick buy and Quick sell menus."
You can adjust slippage and priority fee right there, and the docs note the change applies "only for this specific transaction."
Check the token before you buy. Our rug pull checklist covers mint and freeze authority, liquidity and holder concentration.
Step 7: Sell
From the token page or your holdings, there is a "Sell button beside any of your holdings that still has tokens remaining." Click it and "a pop-up will appear with the different % that you're able to sell."
One quirk from Photon's FAQ: if you see "transaction executing" and click Quick buy or Quick sell again, "there's a chance that both of your transactions will get confirmed." Wait before retrying.
Step 8: Limit orders, DCA and auto triggers
- Limit orders, which Photon Guides says include stop loss and take profit.
- DCA orders to spread a buy over time.
- Auto-Buy and Auto-Sell in settings, where you set a "% change in market cap" (and for sells, "the % of holdings you'd like to sell") for each preset.
Step 9: Withdraw
From the docs: "Input the amount of SOL and the wallet address that you'd like to withdraw the SOL to, and click on 'Withdraw'." The Multi-Wallet page adds that you can withdraw "SOL or any token (using the drop-down menu)", and that you can run up to 5 active trading wallets at once.
Do a small test withdrawal right after your first deposit.
Trading on a phone
Photon has no native app. Its mobile sign-up page walks you through revealing the private key and importing it into Phantom ("Add/Connect Wallet", then "Import Private Key"). Every place a key is imported is one more place it can leak, so only import into the official Phantom app. If you trade mainly on a phone, a Telegram bot or an app like FOMO may suit you better.
Keep your wallet safe
- Save the key once, offline. You can't get it again from Photon.
- Use the official URL only. Photon clone sites exist.
- Never share the key. No real Photon support will ask for it.
- Keep the trading wallet small. Withdraw profits to a wallet you don't trade from.
- Don't import the key into random apps. In March 2024, users who imported bot keys into Solareum were drained (Decrypt).
More in are Solana trading bots safe?
What Photon costs
Photon's fee docs state a 1% fee on every buy and sell, taken from the initial token amount and collected in SOL. Add your priority fee, bribe and any venue fee. Compare in Solana trading bot fees compared.
Is Photon still worth using?
Photon ranks eighth on our home page, which is an editors' order (usage, score and ease of starting), not sorted by score. It has a clean record and documented fees, but little usage now and no copy trading. See Photon alternatives or the Axiom review.
