Phantom Wallet Adoption Shows Bitcoin Is No Longer 'Stagnant Uncle of Crypto'

Phantom, the self-custody crypto wallet that began on Solana, announced Wednesday that it has rolled out compatibility with Bitcoin, Ordinals, and BRC-20 tokens. And some Bitcoin backers that sought to expand the original cryptocurrency's ecosystem in recent years are celebrating the move as a milestone.

The addition comes just months after Phantom expanded beyond its native Solana to add support for dapps and assets on Ethereum and scaling network Polygon. Bitcoin’s own ecosystem has substantially expanded in 2023 thanks to the launch of the Ordinals protocol, which enables “inscriptions” of NFT-like assets and the creation of Bitcoin-based tokens.

"As crypto continues to go multi-chain, our wallet stands out as the premier choice for users," Phantom CEO Brandon Millman told Decrypt at the time.

Wednesday’s announcement is only the latest development in crypto to indicate that the Bitcoin network—which long sat outside the vibrant sphere of NFT ecosystems like Ethereum and Solana due its lack of support for smart contracts—is becoming increasingly central to the digital asset economy.

Following a teaser from Phantom on Tuesday, notable Bitcoin influencer and Taproot Wizards project co-founder Udi Wertheimer tweeted that the move represented a significant validation of Bitcoin’s growth this year.

“This is an emotional moment for me,” Wertheimer wrote. “Last year, in 2022, Bitcoin was a joke. The stagnant uncle of crypto. ‘Nothing to see here’ was the sentiment across the industry.”

“Today we have the top marketplaces and exchanges doing Bitcoin inscriptions—Magic Eden, OKX, Binance—and now we’re joined by the best Web3 wallets too,” he added.

Phantom’s Bitcoin support is already live in beta; any Phantom wallet holder can activate Bitcoin compatibility within their app settings. BTC, Ordinals, and BRC-20 tokens can be imported onto the platform from any existing Bitcoin wallet.

“Without Bitcoin, there’d be no Solana, Ethereum, or Web3,” Phantom posted on Twitter Wednesday. “And for that, we’re forever grateful for Bitcoin and thrilled to launch it (in ₿eta) on Phantom.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward