Phantom, one of the most widely used non-custodial wallets in the crypto space, has made a decisive move into trading infrastructure.
On July 8, 2025, Phantom announced the launch of perpetual futures trading directly within its wallet interface, marking a significant shift in how retail users can access derivatives in the Web3 world.
Powered by a permissionless integration with Hyperliquid’s API, the feature initially targets EU-based users and aims to reshape the gateway between users and onchain financial services.
Phantom: From Solana Origins to a Multichain Powerhouse
Launched in 2021, Phantom gained prominence as a Solana native wallet during the blockchain’s early bull cycle. Its clean UI, efficient mobile app, and early market presence helped it quickly become the go-to solution for Solana users. But the team behind Phantom never intended to remain static.
Beginning in 2023, Phantom expanded support to Ethereum and Polygon, followed by Bitcoin, BRC-20 tokens, and NFT Ordinals in late 2023.
By 2024, it had added access to Base (Coinbase’s Layer 2 network) and Sui, a Layer 1 built on the Move programming language. Integration with Monad, an EVM-compatible Layer 1, is also planned once the blockchain completes its testnet phase.
With perpetual trading now available inside Phantom, the team appears to be doubling down on its belief that wallets will become the central access point for every layer of the crypto economy: from swaps and NFTs to derivatives and lending protocols.
Hyperliquid: Infrastructure That Powers Phantom’s Latest Move
Phantom’s new trading feature leverages the infrastructure of Hyperliquid, a non-custodial, high-performance perpetual futures protocol. Hyperliquid’s flagship layer, HyperCore, underpins both its derivatives trading engine and the newly released HyperEVM, an Ethereum-compatible smart contract network.
Through this partnership, Phantom users can now trade over 100 crypto markets directly within the wallet app, including BTC, ETH, SOL, and even meme coins.
Hyperliquid supports cross-chain collateral deposits and maintains decentralized self-custody. That means users retain control of their funds throughout the trading process, without having to route assets through a centralized exchange.
Phantom’s integration of Hyperliquid offers traders features typically reserved for full-fledged trading platforms:
- Up to 40x leverage on perpetual futures
- Automatic stop-loss and take-profit orders
- Real-time market alerts
- Full in-app position management
All of this is embedded into Phantom’s Home tab, reinforcing a mobile-first experience. Phantom also handles automatic conversion of SOL to USDC for trading, reducing friction for users who hold native Solana assets.
Redefining Wallets as Trading Interfaces
This rollout signals a wider industry trend. Wallets are no longer just places to store digital assets. They are becoming the primary interface for onchain finance.
This strategic pivot away from centralized exchanges puts more emphasis on decentralization, user custody, and trading experiences.
With Phantom’s initiative, the Web3 wallet is now positioned as a one-stop access layer for:
- Spot swaps and token transfers
- NFT interaction
- Governance and staking
- Now, derivatives trading
Other players are moving in a similar direction. Coinbase is reportedly testing in-wallet trading functionality for its app, and Robinhood has signaled interest in supporting decentralized perpetuals.
Phantom’s entry into this space may put pressure on other wallets and ecosystem hubs to accelerate similar integrations. The market is increasingly competitive, and wallets offering nothing beyond storage and swaps may find it difficult to retain users in the long term.
Hyperliquid’s Trillion-Dollar Milestone
Hyperliquid has processed over $1.57 trillion in perpetual futures volume, just over the past year. It is cementing its place as a core infrastructure provider in the DeFi space. Hyperliquid’s unique selling point lies in its non-custodial nature and high-performance matching engine.
By offering <1 second latency and decentralized custody, it has attracted both institutional players and algorithmic traders.
And now through the Phantom integration, Hyperliquid can tap into a broader retail user base while maintaining its technical edge. It also signals to the broader market that trading tools do not need to be isolated to professional platforms. They can be modular, portable, and embedded directly into wallet ecosystems.
Why EU First?
Phantom is launching the new feature in the European Union first, a move that may reflect both compliance considerations and regional user demand. European regulators have taken steps toward clarity in crypto legislation through frameworks like MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), probably giving Phantom more confidence to pilot there.
The feature is explicitly not available to users in the UK and other restricted jurisdictions. Phantom has indicated that expansion will be gradual and dictated by regulatory and operational factors. Users in allowed regions can expect staged rollouts over the coming weeks.
Implications for DeFi and TradFi
The arrival of derivatives inside consumer-grade wallets is a notable shift for the DeFi ecosystem. It represents a step toward mainstreaming complex financial instruments, once considered too risky or technical for the average user. Now, someone holding ETH in Phantom can open a leveraged position on SOL within the same interface.
For traders, this means less context-switching, fewer app downloads, and a more seamless trading experience. For developers, it suggests that the future of DeFi are not standalone dApps but infrastructures that integrate directly into wallets and everyday user interfaces.
Traditional finance firms watching this trend may note the speed at which DeFi is evolving. The gap between user experience in centralized and decentralized platforms is narrowing quickly.
As wallets like Phantom continue to integrate high-speed trading engines, the argument that DeFi lacks sophistication becomes harder to support.
Closing Thoughts
Phantom’s integration of perpetual futures reflects a directional change for the entire wallet category. With billions in trading volume now accessible through a mobile-first, non-custodial wallet, the walls between infrastructure and interface are collapsing.
By aligning with Hyperliquid, Phantom gains battle-tested infrastructure while offering its users unprecedented trading capabilities. For the broader crypto market, this signals that the line between trading platform and wallet is about to disappear.
In this new infra, wallets are the interface where liquidity, leverage, and composability converge. The trading experience is becoming decentralized not only in backend architecture but also in WHERE and HOW users engage with markets.
