Phantom has hired the Ventuals team, a group with roots in Hyperliquid’s ecosystem, as the popular crypto wallet pushes deeper into perpetual trading and competes for active traders.
Phantom has hired the Ventuals team, a group with roots in Hyperliquid’s ecosystem, as the popular crypto wallet pushes deeper into perpetual trading and competes for active traders.
The Solana-focused wallet confirmed the move in a blog post announcing that the Ventuals team is joining Phantom. The hire signals that Phantom views embedded trading, particularly perpetual futures, as a core product priority rather than a feature left to standalone exchanges. For related coverage, see South Korea Investigates Bithumb Over $43B Phantom Bitcoin Payout.
CoinDesk reported that Phantom is doubling down on perpetual futures by bringing in builders who helped shape Hyperliquid’s market infrastructure. The move is notable because Hyperliquid has emerged as one of the fastest-growing decentralized perpetual exchanges, making any talent departure a competitive signal.
Why Wallets Are Racing to Offer Perpetual Trading
Perpetual futures are derivative contracts that let traders speculate on an asset’s price without an expiry date. They are among the highest-volume instruments in crypto, generating significant fee revenue for platforms that can attract and retain active traders.
Wallets like Phantom sit at the entry point of every user’s on-chain experience. By embedding perpetual trading directly into the wallet, Phantom can capture trading flow that currently routes to dedicated exchanges. The logic mirrors what traditional fintech apps learned: distribution wins when the product is good enough.
Phantom has already been expanding its product surface. The wallet launched a Solana-based debit card with Visa earlier this year and has integrated with payment platforms like Oobit to broaden its reach beyond simple token storage.
What This Means for Hyperliquid and Traders
For Hyperliquid, losing builders to a wallet competitor underscores how aggressively wallets are moving into territory once dominated by standalone DEXs. Other platforms have also been positioning around Hyperliquid’s ecosystem; VALR recently announced plans to integrate Hyperliquid for cross-asset perpetuals.
One hire does not prove a full strategic pivot. But combined with Phantom’s recent product expansion and its interactions with U.S. regulatory frameworks, the pattern suggests the wallet is building toward a more complete trading platform.
Traders should watch for concrete product launches from Phantom in the coming months, particularly any perpetual trading features integrated directly into the wallet interface. Whether Phantom can match the liquidity depth and execution speed of dedicated perpetual exchanges will determine if this talent bet pays off.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.