All You Need To Know About The Solana Phantom Wallet

Solana is often touted as one of the breakthrough projects of the crypto space. Over the past few years, we have seen decentralized application (dApp) development gain significant popularity as developers come up with a plethora of applications. The growth of decentralized applications has led to significant congestion on the Ethereum network, the preferred blockchain of choice for developers of dApps. As a result, Ethereum is facing significant issues related to high gas fees and network congestion. However, other blockchains have emerged, providing developers with a viable, or even better, alternative than Ethereum for the dApps. One such blockchain is the Solana blockchain, which has earned itself the moniker of Ethereum Killer. 
Solana’s native token is the SOL token and is at the heart of the Solana ecosystem, driving the platform’s growth. As an investor, you can also purchase SOL and gain exposure to the Solana ecosystem. If you have decided to purchase SOL, then the first thing you would require is a compatible wallet in which you can store your SOL tokens. However, selecting a wallet can be overwhelming, with so many options on the market. This article will look at one such option, the Solana Phantom Wallet, and understand some of its key features. 

In Brief 

• Solana is a decentralized platform offering a solution to the scalability problems faced by Ethereum and can process significantly higher transactions per second. 
• The native token SOL is the 9th largest cryptocurrency in the crypto space. 
• The Solana Phantom wallet is an all-in-one decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet that has seen a surge in adoption as Solana’s ecosystem grows. 

What Is Solana? 

Before we start, we must understand what Solana is and what a crypto wallet is. Let’s start with Solana. Solana had its origins in the ICO boom of 2017 and was founded by Anatoly Yakovenko and Greg Fitzgerald. The Layer-1 blockchain aims to significantly scale throughput, allowing it to process more transactions per second than blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin while maintaining considerably lower costs. Thanks to a unique consensus mechanism called Proof-of-History, Solana can theoretically process over 50,000 transactions per second without employing any Layer-2 scaling solution. Analysts believe that the Solana blockchain is the most serious challenger to Ethereum’s dominance in the DeFi and dApp space, earning it the moniker of “Ethereum Killer.” 

What Is A Crypto Wallet? 

A cryptocurrency wallet is simply an application that acts as a wallet for your crypto tokens. The crypto wallet holds your private keys, which let you access your cryptocurrencies, and allow you to sign transactions to send or receive assets such as BTC, ETH, or SOL. A cryptocurrency wallet comes in many avatars. They are available to users as browser extensions, desktop and mobile applications, and hardware wallets that look like USB devices. Wallets contain a private key and the public key. The latter allows other users to send funds to your wallet, while the private key allows the owner to control the funds associated with the particular wallet. 

The Phantom Wallet 

Now let’s get to the Phantom wallet. The Phantom wallet was launched in 2021 and is a multi-utility and multi-device crypto wallet designed for the Solana blockchain. The wallet has well over a million users and primarily focuses on newer entrants in the crypto space. The Phantom wallet comes with a user-friendly, intuitive UI and presents an ideal solution to onboard DeFi adoption on Solana. It also offers users a host of functions typical of DeFi wallets, such as cryptographic security, decentralization, and fast transactions, along with in-app token swaps, fiat-on ramp, and storage options for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 
Read more: Solana Wallet Guide: What Are The Best Options For Storing SOL?
The wallet also takes a serious approach to security, having adopted several novel security protocols. Users can also get additional security since the Phantom wallet is compatible with hardware wallets such as Ledger. Its long list of features, along with robust security protocols, has made the Phantom wallet one of the go-to wallets for users that wish to interact with the Solana blockchain. 

Using The Phantom Wallet 

Users can download the Phantom wallet as a mobile application available for download or as a browser extension. Once downloaded, the wallet will prompt users to generate their private keys, which the Phantom wallet will manage. The wallet also features a simple and intuitive graphical user interface, masking the technicalities of signing and storing funds. The wallet is available to users in over ten languages such as English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Hindi, Indonesian, and more. Let’s briefly go over how you would use the Phantom Wallet. 

Choosing A Browser 

You can download the application on your mobile if you are using the mobile version. However, if you are using the browser extension, you must select which browser you wish to download the extension. The Phantom wallet is compatible with the Edge, Chrome, Brave, and Firefox browsers. Once installed, the wallet will launch automatically and prompt the user to create a password. Once the password is generated, users can access the wallet and interact with their funds. Users with the mobile app can simply import their seed phrase from the desktop version of the wallet and manage their funds from different devices. 

Purchasing SOL 

Now users have to top up their Phantom wallet with SOL, which can be done relatively simply. Users can deposit SOL into their wallet from another wallet. Simply select the public address of the Phantom wallet and transfer the funds. However, it is essential to ensure that the transaction is done over the Solana network, or else the funds could be lost. 

Earning SOL 

The Phantom wallet also allows users to earn a passive income by staking their idle SOL. Through staking, users can contribute to validators and play their part in securing the Solana network. Users can stake SOL through the Phantom wallet in the following ways. 

• Select the current SOL balance reflected in the wallet, and then click on the “Start Earning SOL” button. Once done, users will be prompted to select the validator they wish to stake with. 
• Once the validator is selected, simply select “Stake,” and the wallet will begin staking your SOL and earn passive income for you. 
• Users will also receive transaction fees as rewards. 

Token Swaps 

Users can easily swap tokens through the Solana Phantom wallet, thanks to the wallet’s in-app token swap feature. Network fees cost less than $0.01 on Solana, which means users can effectively make hundreds of transactions. The Phantom wallet hopes to make its token swap feature the go-to asset exchange feature on Solana, thanks to its decentralization, instant transaction finality, and low costs. 

NFTs 

NFTs saw a significant surge in popularity in 2021, gaining mainstream attention and adoption. The Phantom wallet simplifies NFTs for users, automatically grouping their NFTs into collections, allowing users to organize them into categories. Users can either use the categories suggested by the Phantom wallet or organize them the way they wish to. 

Phantom Wallet Security 

As mentioned earlier, the Solana Phantom wallet has several security protocols in place to safeguard user assets. It offers users a self-custodial service, which means they own their private keys. It also does not store or track personal user information. Mobile users can avail of biometric authentication to access their funds and also sign transactions using their biometrics. The project is also regularly audited by several leading security firms and offers bug bounties to white hat hackers to discover hidden vulnerabilities. 

The Solana Hack

However, despite all these measures in place, the Solana ecosystem was hit by a significant hack that saw thousands of users have their wallets compromised, and funds were stolen, with hackers making off with millions of dollars of user funds. Initial details were sketchy, but it was later revealed that Phantom wallet users were impacted significantly. Several users reached out to the Phantom wallet team for clarity, following which it issued a statement that stated they were aware of the matter and working to fix it. 

In Closing 

Solana is one of the fastest-growing ecosystems in the crypto space. The Phantom wallet offers users an easy way to interact with the ecosystem, thanks to its simple and intuitive UI, particularly aimed at newer crypto users. The wallet offers users a host of features that it hopes will help establish it as the go-to wallet for the Solana ecosystem. However, the recent exploit could play spoilsport and could potentially drive new users away from the wallet.