Phantom Wallet review (October 2026)
Phantom is one of the easiest self-custody wallets to use and the strongest choice for most Solana users, with good scam warnings and Ledger support. Its weak points are a 0.85% fee on most in-app swaps, a short and changing list of networks with no custom networks, closed-source apps, and features such as perps and the card that are limited by region.
This review covers Phantom as it stands on 25 October 2026. We have no affiliate deal with Phantom or any other wallet, and we do not earn anything if you choose it. Facts come from Phantom's help centre and announcements, store listings and independent reporting, named inline.
Verdict in brief
| Area | Our view |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | Excellent. Clean design, clear previews, simple setup |
| Solana support | Excellent. Tokens, NFTs, staking, swaps and apps all work smoothly |
| Other networks | Adequate. Nine networks, no custom networks, list changes often |
| Security features | Good. Transaction previews, malicious site warnings, Ledger support, audits and a bug bounty |
| Transparency | Mixed. Wallet code is not open source |
| Fees | Below average value for swaps (0.85%); network fees are normal |
| Support | In-app chat in English only; no phone or public email |
What Phantom does well
It is easy to use
Phantom's main strength is design. Creating a wallet takes a few minutes, balances and NFTs are clearly laid out, and signing requests show a plain-language preview of what will leave and enter your wallet. That is why many people use it as their first wallet. On the US App Store it is rated 4.8 from about 64,000 ratings (October 2026).
It is the default Solana wallet
Almost every Solana app supports Phantom. Token accounts, NFTs, staking and in-app swaps work without extra setup, and spam NFTs can be hidden or burned to reclaim their rent deposit.
Scam warnings are built in
Phantom simulates transactions before you sign and warns about domains on its blocklist, which is public and community-maintained. In November 2024 it acquired Blowfish, the company that already powered its transaction previews; Phantom says Blowfish had prevented 2.8 million scams and scanned 1.3 billion transactions (Phantom blog). Phantom also works with PhishFort to take down phishing sites. These tools help, but they cannot catch every new drainer, and they cannot help if you type your recovery phrase into a fake site.
Hardware wallet support
You can pair a Ledger with the extension (USB) or the mobile app (Bluetooth), so large balances need a physical button press to move. Trezor and Tangem are not supported, and perps cannot be used with a Ledger account (Phantom help centre). See Phantom with Ledger.
One wallet for Solana, EVM and Bitcoin
One recovery phrase gives you a Solana address, one EVM address for Ethereum, Base, Polygon, BNB Chain, HyperEVM, Robinhood Chain and Arc, and Bitcoin addresses (Phantom no longer supports Ordinals or BRC-20 tokens).
Where Phantom falls short
The swap fee
Phantom adds 0.85% to most in-app swaps. On a 1,000 dollar swap that is 8.50 dollars, before network fees and price impact. Many aggregators and some other wallets charge less. Phantom's help centre says the 0.85% applies to most swaps and does not list cross-chain swaps among the exceptions, so expect it on bridges too. On cross-chain swaps the bridge provider's charge comes on top, shown on a separate fee line, and a $2 minimum may apply. Always read the quote. Our swap fee calculator shows the difference, and Phantom fees explained covers every fee.
A limited, changing network list
Phantom has no custom network option, so you cannot add Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche or other EVM networks yourself. In 2026 it also dropped networks: Monad on 26 August and Sui on 24 September. Arc (16 September) and BNB Chain (1 October) were added. If you rely on a network, check Phantom supported chains first.
Closed source
The extension and mobile apps are proprietary. Phantom publishes its developer SDKs and blocklist on GitHub, but not the wallet itself, so outside researchers cannot inspect the code you run. Phantom relies on third-party audits instead (see below). Some competitors publish their wallet code.
Regional limits
Perpetual futures are not available in the US or the UK. The Phantom Cash card, bank funding and withdrawals are US-only and exclude New York, and Cash funds are not FDIC-insured (spendnode, 2026). Tokenized stocks are not available in the US, UK, France, Germany or the Netherlands (Phantom help centre). The app may show features you cannot use where you live.
A trading-heavy app
The iPhone app is now listed as "Phantom: Trading Wallet", and features such as leveraged perps, memecoin trading, prediction markets and live chat on token pages are prominent. That suits active traders, but beginners can be nudged toward high-risk products, and Phantom's built-in chat has been linked to address poisoning (see the security record). We do not recommend leveraged trading.
No Firefox, no Safari, no phone support
Chrome is the only fully supported desktop browser; Brave, Edge and Opera are "compatible" without guarantees, and Firefox, Safari and Tor are unsupported. Support is in-app chat in English, with follow-up by email. Fake "Phantom support" numbers fill search results; see the Phantom phone support scam.
Security record and audits
Public reporting shows no breach of Phantom's own systems that drained user wallets. The notable events are:
- June 2022: Halborn disclosed the "Demonic" bug (CVE-2022-32969): browser session restore could leave recovery phrases on disk in several wallets, including Phantom. Exploiting it needed access to the computer, no exploits were reported, and Phantom had already patched it (Halborn; CoinDesk, 2022).
- August 2022: about 4 million dollars was drained from Solana wallets. The cause was traced to the Slope wallet; Phantom said it found no evidence its systems were compromised (The Block, 2022).
- November 2024: an iOS update caused app resets, and users without a recovery phrase backup lost access until they restored (The Block, 2024).
- April 2025: a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York alleged that a key-handling flaw enabled a theft of more than 500,000 dollars in tokens. Phantom called the claims "entirely without merit" (Decrypt, 2025). We found no ruling.
- February 2026: a user lost 3.5 wBTC, about 264,000 dollars, to address poisoning that on-chain investigator ZachXBT linked to Phantom's built-in chat (Cointelegraph, 2026).
- October 2024, April 2026 and July 2026: outages showed wrong balances or slowed sends and swaps. Phantom said funds were not affected.
Least Authority published a final audit of Phantom's mobile and extension code in June 2024, and Phantom runs a bug bounty on Cantina, live since 1 July 2026, paying up to 100,000 dollars for critical issues (Cantina, 2026). The full timeline is on Phantom security history, and our verdict on day-to-day risk is in Is Phantom Wallet safe?
Fees at a glance
| Action | Cost (October 2026, Phantom help centre) |
|---|---|
| Download and wallet | Free |
| Send and receive | No Phantom fee; network fee only |
| In-app swap | 0.85% on most swaps plus network fee |
| Native SOL staking | No Phantom fee; validator commission applies |
| Liquid staking (PSOL) | 4% of staking rewards plus a 0.1% exit fee |
| Perps (where available) | 0.095% per trade: 0.05% to Phantom, 0.045% to Hyperliquid |
Who Phantom suits
A good fit if you mainly use Solana, want a polished app on phone and desktop, value scam warnings, or want to pair a Ledger.
Look elsewhere if you need many EVM networks or custom networks, use Sui or Monad, use Firefox or Safari, want open-source wallet code, or swap large amounts often and want lower fees. Our comparisons cover the alternatives: Phantom vs Solflare, Phantom vs MetaMask and the best Phantom alternatives.
Before you install
The biggest risk with Phantom is not the app but fakes of it. Get the real app by typing phantom.com yourself, check the listing with our download checker, write your recovery phrase on paper, and never type it anywhere except the real Phantom app when restoring. Phantom never asks for it, and there is no Phantom token.
Frequently asked questions
Is Phantom Wallet good for beginners?
Yes, it is one of the easiest wallets to set up and use. Beginners should still learn how the recovery phrase works and ignore the leveraged trading features.
Is Phantom better than MetaMask?
For Solana, most people find Phantom easier. MetaMask supports many more EVM networks and custom networks. Our Phantom vs MetaMask comparison covers the details.
What is the biggest downside of Phantom?
For most users it is the 0.85% fee on in-app swaps and the limited list of networks, with no way to add your own.
Is Phantom open source?
No. The extension and mobile apps are proprietary. Phantom publishes its developer SDKs and scam blocklist, and relies on third-party audits and a bug bounty for the wallet itself.
Has Phantom ever been hacked?
Public reporting shows no breach of Phantom's own systems that drained user wallets. Most losses come from fake Phantom apps and sites, drainer sites, address poisoning and leaked recovery phrases.
Can I use Phantom in the US and UK?
Yes, the wallet works there. Perpetual futures are not available in the US or the UK, and the Phantom Cash card is available only in the US, excluding New York.