Phantom Wallet is a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet and browser extension that provides users with a secure and user-friendly way to manage their digital assets. Originally created for the Solana blockchain, Phantom now supports Ethereum, Polygon, and Bitcoin, but remains one of the most popular wallets on Solana. Phantom allows users to securely store, send, receive, and exchange cryptocurrencies and NFTs, as well as interact with DeFi protocols. Phantom quickly gained popularity due to its user-friendly interface and the explosive growth of Solana.
Phantom Wallet History
Phantom Wallet was co-founded by CEO Brandon Millman, CPO Chris Kalani, and CTO Francesco Agosti. Millman was previously a senior engineer at Twitter and helped build decentralized exchange 0x.
team Raised $9 million We participated in a Series A funding round in July 2021, with the goal of developing a wallet for the newly launched Solana blockchain.
Phantom launched at a time when Solana and the entire cryptocurrency market were growing strongly, and became one of the most popular onramps on layer 1 blockchains. It claimed to have acquired over 3 million users in just one year. In January 2022, the team Raised $190 million The Series B funding valued the company at $1.2 billion. Phantom has expanded beyond a simple browser extension, creating a mobile version of its wallet for iOS in January 2022, and later for Android in April 2022.
Phantom too We have expanded our support Includes new token types for other blockchains such as Ethereum, Polygon and Bitcoin, Bitcoin Ordinals in 2023 and the BRC-20 standard. In May, Phantom outperform paypal Ranked #2 in Free Finance Apps on Google Play Store.
Features and Use Cases
Phantom provides users with easy access to common wallet functions such as sending, receiving, and storing SOL and SPL tokens (similar to Ethereum’s programmable ERC-20 tokens). The wallet integrates with decentralized apps on the Solana network, allowing users to interact with DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and more directly from the wallet.
One-click staking allows users to earn returns by staking SOL tokens within their wallet.
Fantom offers the ability to exchange tokens within the app, eliminating the need to interact with a separate decentralized exchange for those looking to exchange instantly at market prices.
Phantom is also compatible with Ledger hardware wallets for offline security.
What do I need to create a Phantom wallet?
Users can download Phantom from Phantom Wallet as a browser extension or mobile app. Website. From there, users can set up the wallet in the browser’s extension store by following the prompts. Users should always make sure they are downloading and installing the official Phantom Wallet application.
After installation, the user will go to a new tab and create a new wallet, including a password that will be used to access the wallet later. The user will then be given a secret recovery seed phrase that must be stored in a safe place. The seed phrase is the only means of recovering the wallet and must be kept safe. Losing the seed phrase will result in loss of access to the funds, and if someone else obtains the seed phrase, the user’s funds can be taken.
Once the password is set and the seed phrase is saved and secured, the user can click Continue to proceed and the wallet will be set up and ready to use. For mobile users, the above steps are similar, but performed on a smartphone instead.
Are there any risks in using Phantom Wallet?
Phantom has strong security features, but no system is completely immune to hacking or security breaches. Users should be careful to avoid phishing scams, but Phantom has implemented specific features such as protection alerts, simulated transactions, URL verification, and community reports to help users detect malicious actors.
Additionally, users can lose their assets if they send funds to the wrong address or lose their seed phrase. Certain apps in the DeFi space may also have vulnerabilities.
A famous example is the serious security breach that occurred in August 2022, affecting thousands of users of the Solana blockchain. attack Approximately $4.1 million worth of SOL and other tokens were lost from thousands of wallets. After investigation, it was discovered that the entire incident originated only from a separate wallet application, Slope wallet, and the Solana team. decided All compromised addresses were either generated, imported, or used by the Slope application at some point.
Nonetheless, this breach highlights the importance of maintaining wallet security and the need for each user to be especially cautious when working in the cryptocurrency and DeFi environment.
Disclaimer: This article was created with the help of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5/4 and has been reviewed and edited by our editorial team.
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