The Solana blockchain is one of the hottest new networks and currently competes with Ethereum. To drive adoption, large networks need a secure and reliable wallet. In the case of Solana, it is this one Ghost Wallet.
With the Phantom Wallet, you can trade tokens, stake SOLs, and hold Solana NFTs right from the interface. Here you will find everything you need to know about the Phantom Wallet.
The Rise of Solana
At the end of 2017, Raj Gokal and Anatoly Yakovenko founded the Solana blockchain. Their project aimed to eliminate the scalability issues faced by most blockchain networks at the time. Yakovenko published a white paper describing a new system, called Proof of History (PoH) named.
The Solana ecosystem was built by a core team of developers consisting of former engineers from Qualcomm, information and Apple compound. The founders of the network also founded Solana Labs to advance the Solana ecosystem. In March 2020, the mainnet beta network kicked off.
Solana is a highly scalable solution and by its own account the fastest blockchain in the world. She is known for her wide range of DeFi solutions and the SOIL token. Solana is designed to Process over 50,000 transactions per second and competition so PayPal or Visa.
Because Solana was designed to compete with Ethereum and other smart contract networks, it allows developers to create DApps, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and NFT marketplaces. According to DappRadar, as of January 2022, the total value (TVL) of staking DeFi assets on the Solana blockchain was approximately $2.36 billion for the DeFi space. The best dApps on Solana are Magic Eden, Raydium and Solanart.
Solana’s native cryptocurrency is SOL, which the entire Solana ecosystem is based on and used to pay network fees.
The Solana course has seen exceptional growth in 2021. At the start of 2021, the price was $1.84 and reached an all-time high of $260 in November, which is a 14,000% price increase is equivalent to. The project’s many partnerships and network launches also contributed to the price hike.
What is the Ghost Wallet?
Phantom Wallet is a non-custodial web 3.0 wallet and the most popular crypto wallet for the Solana blockchain. Most new crypto users haven’t heard of it since Solana only launched the mainnet in 2020.
The Phantom wallet is what the MetaMask wallet is for the Ethereum blockchain. And Web 3.0 aims to combine the decentralized nature of Web 1.0 (where people and businesses have their own websites) with the modern features of Web 2.0. Similar to MetaMask, the Phantom Wallet is also a browser-based crypto wallet. If you want to interact with a Solana app, you can simply log in to your shadow wallet.
Phantom aims to support Web 3.0 and allows users to freely transfer crypto assets between wallet and Solana dApps. For example, players can use the Phantom Wallet to play blockchain games and receive in-game tokens. Players can then connect to decentralized exchanges like Raydium using the same wallet and exchange those tokens for fiat money or other tokens supported by Solana.
The Phantom wallet currently supports the following currencies: USDT, USDC, Raydium (RAY), SRM (SRM) and all utility tokens introduced with Solana’s dApps. If you’ve used MetaMask before, the Phantom Wallet will look very familiar. It’s just as easy to use and navigate.
Here are some of the features of Phantom Wallet that most users are likely to appreciate:
- Exchange Integration
- NFT compatibility
- Cryptocurrency staking
- Can be connected to a hardware wallet (ledger).
- Web 3 support
Other features that may soon be implemented in the Phantom Wallet are:
- Support for Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens
- More markets for the Phantom Swap feature
- Multi-channel support
Phantom’s Exchange integration
The Phantom Wallet includes an integrated decentralized exchange. There, users can trade Solana-based tokens directly from their wallet. The exchange interface is similar to the MetaMask wallet, showing the exchange rate, slippage tolerance, and estimated fees when a trade is made.
Since the introduction of the exchange feature in June 2021, over US$1 billion worth of trades have taken place. The team behind the wallet aims to improve the DEX experience by fixing user experience and scalability issues as they arise.
The Phantom Wallet is compatible with NFTs
The Phantom wallet also supports NFTs on the Solana blockchain. With NFT becoming such a massive industry, many investors are looking to expand their portfolios to include other blockchains besides Ethereum.
The wallet can automatically group similar NFTs together for easier access. This saves you from searching through hundreds of NFTs to find what you are looking for.
However, it is important to note that the Shadow Wallet only supports Solana NFTs. If the wallet cannot identify the token as an NFT, the NFT will appear as an SPL token.
Cryptocurrency staking
Investors can also use the shadow wallet to stake the Solana SOL cryptocurrency and receive rewards for it. Similar to staking other cryptocurrencies, Solana staking rewards are dependent on the validators selected. Please note that the wallet does not offer built-in staking options, it only connects investors to validators.
Solana staking is easy. Once your wallet has SOL, you can click on the Solana balance and select the “Start earning SOL” option. A list of validators will appear in the wallet for you to select one. Then you just need to click on Stake and you can stake SOL with the Phantom Wallet.
Support for hardware wallet (ledger)
The Phantom Wallet also allows you to connect to Ledger, the popular hardware wallet. This means that your tokens are always securely stored on your hardware device. However, this feature is currently only available for Ledger hardware devices.
To use Ledger with your Phantom wallet, you need to install Ledger live on your device and then connect your Ledger hardware wallet. You also need to create an address and an account to link your wallet.
Web 3 support
Web 3 stands for Decentralized Internet. Web 3 makes it possible to combine blockchain technology and the Internet to develop decentralized applications (dApps).
As the Solana ecosystem continues to grow, internet users will find thousands of apps to interact with. We have already talked about the most important Solana projects here, which have great potential.
Advantages and disadvantages of the shadow wallet
Here are some of the pros and cons of using the Phantom Wallet.
advantages
- The wallet is user-friendly and available on multiple browsers (Chrome, Brave, Firefox, and Edge).
- The wallet has an integrated swap
- Support for a hardware wallet (ledger) to increase security
- The wallet is non-custodial, meaning only you can access your private key and cryptocurrency.
Disadvantages
- The Phantom Wallet is a relatively new wallet as it was only launched in 2021.
- It targets the Solana ecosystem and does not support any other networks.
How to use the Ghost Wallet?
The Phantom Wallet can be downloaded as a web extension and is easy to use. All you have to do is install the plugin, create a new wallet or import an existing wallet using the seed phrase.
The wallet shows your wallet balance, lets you send and receive coins, and also gives you access to a few other features.
It turns out that the Phantom wallet is basically the Solana ecosystem’s MetaMask wallet. And with more decentralized apps being developed on the Solana blockchain in the near future, you’ll likely need a Solana wallet to interact with dApps.
Since the platform is still relatively new, more features will be added over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Phantom also has a mobile wallet. But it is only available for iOS.
Yes, the Phantom Wallet is a noncustodial crypto wallet for the Solana blockchain used to hold Solana tokens and NFTs.
Although Phantom Wallet is a relatively new crypto wallet, it is already considered a secure wallet by users. Cryptographic security firm Kudelski Security also checked them and found them safe. Investors can find a detailed Phantom Wallet security report here.
You can download Phantom Wallet as a browser plug-in from the official website: phantom.app.
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