In just 2 years, Phantom Wallet has become one of the most important crypto wallets in the sector.
Phantom, a browser extension wallet designed to interact with Solana’s decentralized application ecosystem, has evolved into a multichain wallet, integrating support for other blockchain networks natively.
The developers of this cryptocurrency wallet announced last week the integration of native support for Bitcoin's SegWit (Segregated Witness) and Taproot addresses. This new integration comes just days after Phantom announced its compatibility with the most capitalized blockchain on the market.
In addition to supporting the Ethereum and Polygon Network networks, Phantom announced this month the integration of the Bitcoin network, offering support for assets based on this blockchain, such as BTC, Ordinals and BRC-20.
Native support for SegWit and Taproot addresses
The integration of Bitcoin SegWit and Taproot addresses, natively in Phantom Wallet, represent a significant milestone for the development and growth of the blockchain ecosystem.
Udi Wertheimer, independent developer and consultant, praised the integration of Bitcoin into Phantom Wallet, stating that this could accelerate development and use cases for Bitcoin. “Today we have all the major marketplaces and exchanges doing Bitcoin signups…and now we are also joined by the best Web3 wallets,” he pointed Wertheimer on social media.
With native support for SegWit and Taproot BTC addresses, Bitcoin users can choose from different types of addresses, depending on their needs and advantages.
From their website, the developers of Phantom Wallet explain that, in the case of Bitcoin, users can have one or two addresses per account, being a native SegWit BTC address, in the Bech32 format, and another native Taproot address, in the Bech32m format.
Advantages of the new address formats supported in Phantom
When creating a new Bitcoin wallet using Phantom Wallet, users will have access to a SegWit address by default. However, they also have the option to choose from the different types of Bitcoin addresses offered in the wallet, each with their own advantages.
SegWit addresses allow for reduced transaction sizes and network fees, while Taproot addresses, a privacy-focused upgrade, allow for improved privacy when making a BTC transaction. Taproot was also created to improve the scalability and flexibility of Bitcoin transactions.
In the middle of this month, Phantom also added the different types of assets that exist on top of Bitcoin, such as Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens.
As reported by this media, the Bitcoin ecosystem has been integrated into Solana's browser extension wallet, allowing native support for its native NFTs and tokens, which can be managed, exchanged and stored within the wallet. All of this is part of Phantom's goals to establish itself as one of the main multichain wallets in the blockchain ecosystem and to facilitate the adoption and use of cryptocurrencies in the real world.
Phantom is known as Solana’s “MetaMask” due to its similarities to the Ethereum wallet.
Continue reading: Phantom Wallet now lets you create NFTs with your smartphone camera
