Phantom Wallet surges in popularity, surpasses Facebook in Google Play

Phantom Wallet, a widely used app for accessing Solana’s web3 ecosystem, has surpassed Facebook and ChatGPT in the Google Play Store’s U.S. rankings.

Currently ranked #11 behind Cash App and Snapchat in the free download category, Phantom Wallet saw an estimated 770,000 downloads in April, according to data from appfigures, placing it ahead of social media giant Facebook and OpenAI’s language model ChatGPT.

Phantom Wallet is a self-custodial crypto wallet originally designed to hold only Solana (SOL) tokens. However, it has since been expanded to support Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Polygon (MATIC).

Phantom Wallet shines on Apple App Store

It is not the first time the wallet has been in the news for climbing app store rankings. On May 19, Phantom secured the third position in the Apple App Store’s utility category, just behind Google and Google Chrome. 

It also reported more than 7 million active monthly users for April, a development often interpreted by the crypto community as a sign of growing adoption.

This surge in downloads has also sparked optimism among commentators, who suggest it might indicate a bullish trend for SOL, as exemplified by the angel investor, Evan Luthra.

At the time of writing, the token was trading just above $168, marking a modest 1.35% increase in the last 24 hours and a 16.9% jump over 30 days, according to CoinGecko.

Phantom Wallet acquires Bitski

Phantom’s growing popularity has coincided with news of its acquisition of the web3 browser extension Bitski amidst increasing demand for user-friendly decentralized applications (dapps). 

Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed.

Phantom outlined plans to integrate Bitski’s browser extension into the its wallet to simplify onboarding and improve user experience.

Bitski’s technology allows users to create wallets using just an email address, eliminating the need to manage phrases and private keys. Additionally, Bitski enables developers to embed wallet functionality directly into their applications, allowing users to interact with dapps without leaving the app.

Following the acquisition, Bitski products, including its wallet, will be phased out starting May 27, with Bitski users able to obtain their private keys for self-custody. Phantom and Bitski are reportedly collaborating on a new product that will feature embedded wallets within Solana dapps in a bid to enhance user interaction and trust.