Phantom Wallet, a popular app for accessing Solana’s web3 ecosystem, has surpassed Facebook and ChatGPT in the Google Play Store’s U.S. rankings.

Currently ranked #11 behind Cash App and Snapchat in the free download category, Phantom Wallet saw an estimated 770,000 downloads in April. This places it ahead of social media giant Facebook and OpenAI’s language model ChatGPT.

Phantom Wallet is a self-custodial crypto wallet initially designed to hold only Solana (SOL) tokens. However, it has since expanded to support Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Polygon (MATIC).

Phantom Wallet Shines on Apple App Store

On May 19, Phantom secured the third position in the Apple App Store’s utility category, just behind Google and Google Chrome. It reported more than 7 million active monthly users for April, often seen by the crypto community as a sign of growing adoption.

We hit a new milestone! 7 MILLION MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS πŸ€―πŸŽ‰

This surge in downloads has sparked optimism among commentators, suggesting it might indicate a bullish trend for SOL. Angel investor Evan Luthra highlighted the achievement on social media.

🚨BREAKING🚨 Phantom wallet becomes the TOP 3 utility app in the Apple App store in the US! Seems like the $SOL season is going to be BIG! What SOL coins shall I buy?πŸ‘€πŸ‘‡

At the time of writing, the SOL token was trading just above $168, marking a modest 1.35% increase in the last 24 hours and a 16.9% jump over 30 days.

Phantom Wallet Acquires Bitski

Phantom’s growing popularity has coincided with the acquisition of the web3 browser extension Bitski, amidst increasing demand for user-friendly decentralized applications (dapps). Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed.

Phantom plans to integrate Bitski’s browser extension into its wallet to simplify onboarding and improve user experience. Bitski’s technology allows users to create wallets using just an email address, eliminating the need to manage phrases and private keys. Additionally, Bitski enables developers to embed wallet functionality directly into their applications, allowing users to interact with dapps without leaving the app.

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

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