In today’s digital world, changes are happening extremely fast. Yesterday, everyone was interested in Instagram and Facebook, and today they are giving way to crypto wallets. So what is behind this phenomenon?
Phantom Wallet surpassed Facebook and ChatGPT in popularity
Phantom Wallet is a self-custodial crypto wallet originally developed to hold only SOL but later expanded to support BTC, ETH, and MATIC. Recently, according to Appfigures, it was ranked 11th in the free downloads ranking after Cash App and Snapchat and had approximately 770,000 downloads in April, ahead of social media giant Facebook and OpenAI’s ChatGPT language model.
This is not the first time that the wallet has been in the news because it has risen in the ratings of app stores. On May 19, Phantom also took 3rd place in the Apple App Store utility category, right after Google and Google Chrome. In addition, the company reported that more than 7 million active monthly users were recorded in April. This is often interpreted by the cryptocurrency community as a sign of the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies.
The wallet’s growing popularity coincided with the news that the company has acquired Bitski, an extension for the web3 browser, amid demand for intuitive decentralized applications. Phantom plans to integrate the extension to simplify connectivity and improve the user experience. With Bitski, users will be able to create wallets using only an email address, eliminating the need to manage passphrases and private keys. In addition, the extension allows developers to embed the wallet function directly into their applications, allowing users to interact with them without leaving the program.
MetaMask plans to integrate Bitcoin
The popular cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask is planning to add support for Bitcoin. This is reported by CoinDesk, citing people familiar with the matter. The wallet provider plans to introduce Bitcoin support within the next month, but the exact time is unknown. The specific functionality of the cryptocurrency has not yet been determined, but the possibilities may be initially limited but later expanded.
Even though MetaMask has already gone beyond the Ethereum ecosystem with the inclusion of Snaps, such a move will add one of the leading blockchains to the most popular digital wallet platforms. Recently, the wallet’s developers have added other features to improve the user experience, such as Blockaid-based security alerts for multiple blockchains, Ethereum validator staking, and a feature that allows users to verify their eligibility to receive airdrop and NFT claims.
MetaMask’s Ethereum wallet is the gateway for more than 30 million monthly active users to the world of decentralized applications and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Web3. It integrates with exchanges such as Binance, WhiteBIT, and OKX and allows users to top up their balance with ETH tokens and related networks.
While MetaMask is working on integrating BTC support, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has expressed a provocative vision. He argues that the crypto industry must evolve beyond Bitcoin to remain relevant and sustainable. Hoskinson notes that Bitcoin, with its proof-of-work consensus mechanism, is no longer in line with the technological advances needed to meet current needs for scalability and sustainability. He compares the commitment to a digital asset to a form of “religion”.
Summary
The popularity of Phantom Wallet, which surpasses the major social media giants, shows that cryptocurrencies are becoming more accessible and understandable to the world. MetaMask and its Bitcoin extension open up new opportunities for users to integrate different digital assets in one place. These moves demonstrate the importance of developing the cryptocurrency ecosystem and show how popular wallets are actively adapting to market needs.