Phantom Wallet, a popular app for accessing Solana’s web3 ecosystem, has soared past Facebook and ChatGPT in the Google Play Store’s U.S. rankings. Currently sitting at #11 in the free download category, just behind Cash App and Snapchat, Phantom Wallet saw an estimated 770,000 downloads in April, according to app figures data. This places it ahead of social media giant Facebook and OpenAI’s language model, ChatGPT.

Source: appfigures.com

Originally designed to hold only Solana (SOL) tokens, Phantom Wallet now supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Polygon (MATIC). This expansion has likely contributed to its surge in popularity and downloads.

Top Performer on Apple App Store

We hit a new milestone!

7 MILLION MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS 🤯🎉 pic.twitter.com/p4Tpjut6kZ

— Phantom (@phantom) April 29, 2024

Phantom Wallet’s success isn’t limited to Google Play. On May 19, it secured the third position in the Apple App Store’s utility category, just behind Google and Google Chrome. The wallet reported over 7 million active monthly users in April, a milestone seen by the crypto community as a sign of growing adoption.

Positive Market Impact

Solana 30-day price chart | Source: CoinGecko

The surge in Phantom Wallet’s downloads has sparked optimism among commentators, suggesting a bullish trend for SOL. Angel investor Evan Luthra highlighted this development. At the time of writing, SOL was trading just above $168, marking a 1.35% increase in the last 24 hours and a 16.9% rise over 30 days, according to CoinGecko.

Acquisition of Bitski

Phantom Wallet’s growing popularity coincides with its acquisition of web3 browser extension Bitski, amidst rising demand for user-friendly decentralized applications (dapps). Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed. Phantom plans to integrate Bitski’s technology into its wallet to simplify onboarding and enhance user experience. Bitski allows users to create wallets using just an email address, eliminating the need to manage phrases and private keys. It also enables developers to embed wallet functionality directly into their applications, allowing seamless interaction with dapps.

Following the acquisition, Bitski products, including its wallet, will be phased out starting May 27. Bitski users will be able to obtain their private keys for self-custody. Phantom and Bitski are collaborating on a new product featuring embedded wallets within Solana dapps to enhance user interaction and trust.