Phantom Wallet Review | Best SOL & ETH Wallet Around?
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
5 min to read
Fact checked
Introduction: In this article we are taking a closer look at Phantom Wallet, a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet tailored to the Solana ecosystem. We will be going over the pros and cons of the wallet, as well as key features so that readers can decide if it is the right choice for them.
Phantom wallet was founded in 2021 by Brandon Millman, Chris Kalani, and Francesco Agosti with a mission to make crypto easy to use. The wallet provides a secure and seamless way to send and receive SPL tokens and interact with various DeFi applications (dApps) on the Solana blockchain.
The team has to date raised over $118 million in funding from well known investors such as A16Z, Jump and Paradigm, valuing the company at over $1 billion. With this large fundraise, the Phantom team is able to expand their product offering and increase their footprint across the crypto landscape.
Phantom Supported Platforms
1. Phantom Wallet Browser
The Phantom wallet is available as a browser extension available on Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Microsoft Edge. The browser wallet has over 2 million downloads on Chrome with a 4.5 rating based on 550 reviews.
2. Phantom Wallet Android & IOS
The Phantom wallet can also be installed on iOS and Android devices and has currently accumulated over half a million downloads with an average 4-star rating. Most features that are found on the browser wallet are also available on mobile. The one exception is Ledger support which is currently not supported on mobile.
Phantom Wallet Features
1. Phantom Wallet Exchange
Phantom is a user friendly wallet that provides an intuitive and easy to navigate user experience. The wallet includes a built-in decentralized exchange that allows users to instantly swap Solana-based tokens.
The Phantom Wallet charges a flat 0.85% fee for most swaps with network fees typically costing less than $0.001. Transacting money out of the wallet incurs a network fee of around 0.0001 SOL which does not go to Phantom.
2. Phantom Wallet NFTs
The Phantom wallet can easily be used to connect to popular NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Magic Eden and SuperRare. Once connected, users can browse the NFT libraries to make bids, purchase or post NFTs for sale.
3. Phantom Wallet Staking
Users who wish to stake their SOL tokens can easily do so with the Phantom wallet. To stake Solana (SOL) with Phantom simply select "start earning SOL" and select the validator that you wish to delegate your SOL tokens to. Make sure to select a good validator that does not charge too high of a commission fee.
The Phantom wallet is a multi-device crypto wallet for the Solana blockchain that supports all tokens built on the SPL standard, including SOL, USDC, USDT, Raydium (RAY), and more.
The Phantom team recently announced that they would add support for two additional blockchains in Q1 of 2023, Ethereum and Polygon blockchain. The founder of Phantom wallet Brandom Millman had this to say in an interview with Techcrunch
“We’re graduating from a mono-chain wallet to a multi-chain wallet,” Millman said. “It was always our goal to bring Phantom to a multi-chain world. It was always our understanding that the world was moving to a more multi-chain world so it’s something that is more of a homecoming for us.”
Phantom Wallet Customer Support
The Phantom Wallet offers customer support through several channels including email, social media, and in-app support. They have a dedicated support email address where customers can send their queries and concerns. They also have a help center on their website where customers can find answers to frequently asked questions.
Additionally, they are available on social media platforms such as Twitter, Telegram, and Discord, where customers can reach out to them for support. The Phantom team also encourages customers to submit feedback and suggestions to help improve their services.
Is Phantom Wallet Safe?
Phantom Wallet is a secure, self-custodial wallet that encrypts private keys on the user's device so that users have full control of their assets. While the Phantom wallet has been independently audited by Kudelski Security, it is currently not open source. The team offers a bug bounty of $50,000 to any white hat hacker who can identity vulnerabilities that can lead to lose of funds.
To prevent users from experiencing spam NFTs and phishing attacks, Phantom has developed automated warnings of likely malicious attempts. CEO Millman had this to say
“We’ve gone to great lengths to improve the experience around ‘transaction preview’ and the ability for a user to understand what they are authorizing when interacting with a web3 application. Our transaction preview technologies have prevented over 20,000 wallets from being drained”
While the Phantom wallet has never been hacked, the safest option is always to use a Ledger hardware wallet in tandem with Phantom when interacting with DeFi applications. Ledger is currently only supported in the browser wallet.
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.