Phantom launched in 2021 and became Solana’s dominant wallet, serving as the MetaMask equivalent for the Solana ecosystem. Co-founded by Brandon Millman (former 0x engineer) and Chris Kalani (former Apple designer), Phantom prioritized design quality and user experience at a time when crypto wallets were notoriously ugly and confusing.
The wallet’s clean interface — purple-themed with intuitive swap, send, and NFT gallery features — set a new standard for crypto wallets. While MetaMask required users to manually add tokens, switch networks, and navigate complex settings, Phantom auto-detected tokens, displayed NFTs beautifully, and built DEX aggregation directly into the wallet.
Phantom raised $109 million in a Series B round in January 2022 at a $1.2 billion valuation, making it one of the most well-funded wallet companies in crypto. The funding came during the height of the bull market, and Phantom used it to expand its team and add multi-chain support.
The multi-chain expansion was crucial. In 2023, Phantom added Ethereum and Polygon support, then Bitcoin in 2024. This transformed Phantom from a “Solana wallet” into a true multi-chain wallet, competing directly with MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet. The Ethereum addition was particularly significant — it brought Phantom’s superior UX to Ethereum’s massive user base.
During the memecoin boom of 2024, Phantom was the primary wallet for millions of Solana traders buying and selling tokens through pump.fun, Raydium, and Jupiter. The wallet processed hundreds of millions in daily swap volume through its built-in aggregator, earning fees that made it one of the most profitable products in crypto.
Phantom’s in-app swap feature, powered by Jupiter’s aggregation, allowed users to trade tokens without ever leaving the wallet. This “wallet as DEX” model — where the wallet captures trading fees — proved more lucrative than traditional wallet business models that relied on subscription fees or advertising.
By 2025, Phantom had become the most downloaded crypto wallet on mobile app stores, surpassing MetaMask. The wallet’s growth tracked Solana’s renaissance, proving that ecosystem success and wallet adoption reinforce each other in a powerful feedback loop.
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