Thread by @The_ReadingApe

Here's the pod summary from @coingecko podcast where the host Benjamin (@NeBB399) interviewed Brandon Millman (@BChillman), CEO of @phantom. Phantom wallet is a user-first crypto wallet based in the Solana blockchain. Read on 👇 to learn why Phantom is so popular with users.

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom Who is Brandon Millman

🔸 CEO and co-founder of Phantom Wallet
🔸 Launched around Apr 2021
🔸 Formally an engineering leader at @0xProject
🔸 Before that, he was the senior engineer at Twitter

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject His switch from engineering

🔸 Disillusioned with his work at big tech companies
🔸 Decided to join a nascent 👶 industry, like Ethereum
🔸 Initially wanted to get into the consumer app side but realised infrastructure is not ready to support it, and ended up at 0x

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject Uses of crypto wallet

🔸 Not just a piece of software to hold your crypto assets
🔸 Expanded to include access to DApps and
🔸 Gateway to all sorts of application

Future vision of wallets
🔸 Able to connect all DApps
🔸 Social media access
🔸 Identity in Web 3.0 world

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject "A wallet can actually help you do stuff with your crypto too, by giving you access to a world of blockchain applications and DApp. Nowadays a wallet is more of an access point to those types of applications more than it is just a way to store your crypto."

Brandon Millman

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject Phantom wallet

Why @solana wallet?
🔸 Began deep research on Ethereum and wanted a wallet that is a gateway to blockchain apps
🔸 Wanted to take a bet on a new ecosystem that is missing its flagship wallet for app
🔸 New blockchains are always pitching on speed 🏃💨 and cost

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana "Our goal is to become a multi-chain wallet that gives users access to a world of DApps no matter where they live. We're starting our journey with Solana, but our first foray into a multi-chain wallet will be our cooperation with Ethereum later this year."

Brandon Millman

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana Signs of Solana being a winner

🔸 Has a small and genuine core of community development around the tech
🔸 Links to @FTX_Official and @JumpCryptoHQ
🔸 Large deployment of native USDC on-chain - a lifeblood of decentralised exchange activity
🔸 A lot came from $ETH blockchain

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ Features
🔸 Can view NFTs 👀🎨
🔸 Able to stake/swap

Key differentiator: User-first approach in the product
🔸 The goal is to form a brand and experience that users come to love 💕
🔸 2nd mover advantage: able to build wallet around trends e.g. DeFi, NFT, multi-chain

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ "I think you kind of see that when you read some of the reviews or look at some of the hype, a lot of it is about a user having an amazing first time experience with the product."

Brandon Millman

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ Plans to capitalise on NFT hype

🔸 Help Ethereum NFT space by having a wallet that they can view NFT on
🔸 Underserved at the moment
🔸 Will be building mobile apps so that people can participate in NFT drops on the go 📱

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ Usage stats for Aug 2021

🔸 180,000 monthly actives
🔸 2.3M SOL stakes in total ~ $260M in value
🔸 $105 M going through their in-wallet swapper
🔸 1.8M DApp transactions to the wallet

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ Reasons for huge growth in Aug

🔸 NFT hype in Solana
🔸 @staratlas IPO
🔸 @RaydiumProtocol campaign
🔸 @mangomarkets token launch

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ @staratlas @RaydiumProtocol @mangomarkets Wallets being essential to chain survivability

🔸 A user's first experience will colour the whole experience of using the chain
🔸 If the experience is slick and polished, likely will continue using
🔸 Apps are made by developers for developers, not with consumers in mind

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ @staratlas @RaydiumProtocol @mangomarkets 🔸 UI in DApp space has improved since 2017
🔸 But it's like a local maximum - high locally but overall standard is still low
🔸 More incentives to copy and paste and cash grab than to thoughtfully hone a product and experience from scratch
🔸 Phantom wants to redefine this

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ @staratlas @RaydiumProtocol @mangomarkets Wallet based tokens

🔸 Nothing concrete in mind right now
🔸 Design goal of having a token is to decentralise the wallet and give control to the community
🔸 Still in building mode now
🔸 Not the right time - better to have a token when the protocol is worth governing

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ @staratlas @RaydiumProtocol @mangomarkets Plans for 2H 2021
🔸 Push and perfect user experience in Solana
🔸 Include Ethereum so that the wallet can be truly multi-chain
🔸 Develop mobile apps 📱

For 2022
🔸 Include more chains and networks ⛓️
🔸 Push beyond what is expected of a wallet and what it can do

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ @staratlas @RaydiumProtocol @mangomarkets Links

🔹 Substack article: thereadingape.substack.com/p/coingecko-po…

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ @staratlas @RaydiumProtocol @mangomarkets 🔹 Podcast: podcast.coingecko.com/719703/9151330
🔹 Youtube:

Thanks to @NeBB399 from @coingecko for the nice interview - been missing the action in $SOL because of inertia so this wakes us up!

@coingecko @NeBB399 @BChillman @phantom @0xProject @solana @FTX_Official @JumpCryptoHQ @staratlas @RaydiumProtocol @mangomarkets Like our work?

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~ End Thread