Phantom Wallet popular on Google Play, surpasses Facebook

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

Phantom Wallet, currently ranked 11th in the free download category behind Cash App and Snapchat, has surpassed social media giant Facebook and OpenAI’s language model ChatGPT with an estimated 770,000 downloads in April, according to appfigures data.

Source: appfigures.com

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 in Apple App Store

This is not the first time that the wallet has risen in the app store rankings. On May 19, Phantom took third place in the Apple App Store’s utility category, just behind Google and Google Chrome.

Additionally, more than 7 million monthly active users were reported for April; This development is often interpreted as a sign of increasing adoption by the crypto community.

This increase in downloads has also fueled optimism among commentators, who suggest this could signal a bullish trend for SOL, as exemplified by angel investor Evan Luthra.

🚨BREAKING🚨

Phantom wallet has become a top 3 companion app in the Apple App Store in the US!

It seems so $LEFT The season is going to be BIG!

Which SOL coins should I buy?👀👇 pic.twitter.com/QiLOv4Es1V

— EvanLuthra.eth (@EvanLuthra) May 19, 2024

According to CoinGecko, at the time of writing, the token was trading at just over $168; It represented a modest 1.35% increase in the last 24 hours and a 16.9% increase in 30 days.

Solana 30-day price chart | Source: CoinGecko Phantom Wallet acquired Bitski

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

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Phantom outlined plans to integrate Bitski’s browser extension into 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 allows developers to embed wallet functionality directly into their apps, 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, and Bitski users will be able to keep their private keys for their own storage. Phantom and Bitski are reportedly collaborating on a new product that will include embedded wallets within Solana dapps, with the aim of increasing user engagement and trust.