Phantom Wallet announces the acquisition of the Bitski service, with which it seeks to simplify the process of generating wallets for new users, and promote their use in both Web2 and Web3 services.
In a significant strategic move, Phantom Wallet, the leading wallet in the Solana ecosystem, has acquired Bitski, a Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) platform backed by high-profile investors such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Galaxy Digital.
From Phantom, they announce the acquisition with a curious post on X, where they make it clear that:
Their mission is to accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrencies by making them safe and easy to use. And while we’ve already helped millions of people access and self-custody cryptocurrencies, Bitski will help us reach billions.
And this is important, because Bitski allows you to create cryptocurrency wallets that can be managed as if they were a social media account. To do this, Bitski allows you to use your email as an element to generate your self-custodial crypto wallet, thus allowing the recovery of wallets in a simple way without giving up security.
With that in mind, Phantom Wallet seeks to improve the accessibility of wallets, in order to expand the reach of Web3 services built on Solana.
Bitski and Phantom Wallet: Two Powerful Wallets
Bitski, founded in 2018, is a platform that offers integrated wallets which can be directly integrated into applications or platforms. These wallets allow users to access and manage their digital assets from within the application, providing a more user-friendly and fluid user experience.
Especially since the generation of such wallets is very simple, allowing users to generate wallets with recovery schemes where you can use your email, as well as allowing for a much simpler and more transparent integration to Web3 and Web2 applications. Thanks to this, Bitski has become an essential tool for various Fortune 500 applications, games and brands.
Meanwhile, Phantom Wallet is one of the most popular and widely used wallets in the Solana ecosystem. Founded with the purpose of improving the user experience on Web3, Phantom has grown rapidly and has become an essential tool for Solana users. With over 7 million monthly active users, Phantom continues to expand its capabilities and improve its product offering.
Reasons behind the acquisition
Phantom Wallet's acquisition of Bitski is based on several strategic reasons:
- Facilitate wallet integration on Solana. Bitski’s technology will enable Phantom to more seamlessly integrate wallets into third-party applications, simplifying the onboarding process for both users and developers.
- Improving the user experience of the Solana network. With Bitski integration capabilities, Phantom plans to offer a Web2-like user experience, where users will be able to register and access their wallets using only their email address.
- Team expansion. The Bitski team, including its co-founders, will join Phantom, expanding its current team of over 80 people and bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge.
Terms of acquisition
On the other hand, we must highlight that although the specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, it is known that this acquisition is significant given the financial context of both companies.
Firstly, Bitski has raised at least $25,5 million in funding to date. While Phantom has raised a total of $118 million and was valued at $1,2 billion in early 2022.
Furthermore, behind both projects are investors such as a16z, Paradigm, Solana Ventures, Variant and Alliance, which gives us an idea of the solid confidence that both developments have projected to the community.
Impact on the Solana ecosystem
The integration of Bitski into Phantom Wallet has the potential to significantly strengthen the Solana ecosystem. Some of the anticipated benefits include:
- Adding new users. Simplifying the onboarding process will allow millions of new users to join the Solana ecosystem safely and easily.
- Improving applications and platforms. Bitski’s integrated wallet technology will enable applications and platforms on Solana to offer a more consistent and seamless user experience.
- Solana adoption on the rise. By improving usability and accessibility, this integration could lead to further adoption of Solana as a leading platform in the Web3 space.
A significant step for Solana
Phantom Wallet’s acquisition of Bitski represents a significant step towards consolidating the Solana ecosystem. By combining the strengths of both platforms, Phantom is well positioned to deliver an enhanced user experience and attract a new wave of users to Solana. This move will not only benefit current users but will also lay a solid foundation for future growth in the Web3 space.
Phantom and Bitski are clearly committed to taking the digital wallet experience to the next level, and the Solana community can expect great things from this collaboration in the coming months.
