Solana-Based Wallet Phantom Buys Web3 Specialist Bitski

Phantom, the leading crypto wallet in the Solana ecosystem, has bought Web3-focused browser extension wallet Bitski, the companies said on Tuesday.

The Bitski team will be joining Phantom to bring embedded wallets to Solana, according to a press release. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The recent non-fungible token (NFT) boom, which Bitski enthusiastically supported, saw an expansion of the Web3 ecosystem towards mainstream users, and with it usability challenges particularly when using mobile devices. Embedded wallets solve some of the issues around adoption, said Phantom’s head of growth David Wu.

“In the future, we think embedded wallets really make sense for decentralized applications, rather than being forced to build their own or use less trusted firms or experimental products,” said Wu in an interview. “With Bitski’s expertise in embedded wallets, onboarding will be much easier. Instead of telling people to download a separate mobile app, and adopt a seed phrase, simply sign up with an email and get started immediately.”

Piggybacking on renewed interest in Solana, Phantom has seen its user base double over the past three months to 7 million monthly active users, Wu said. Early in 2022, Phantom raised $109 million at a $1.2 billion valuation.