Sequoia, Paradigm Back Phantom Wallet in $150M Round, Valuation Hits $3B

Phantom Technologies Inc., the company behind the popular cryptocurrency wallet Phantom, has soared to a $3 billion valuation after a $150 million funding round led by venture capital giants Sequoia Capital and Paradigm. This more than doubles the company's previous valuation, highlighting the growing investor confidence in non-custodial wallets and the broader crypto market.

Riding the Wave: Phantom's App Climbs the Charts

Phantom's wallet app has seen a surge in popularity, recently climbing the iPhone App Store rankings. CEO and co-founder Brandon Millman attributes this growth to a "broader trend" of users opting to buy crypto directly through their wallets rather than relying on centralized exchanges like Coinbase.

Putting Users in Control: The Appeal of Non-Custodial Wallets

Phantom's wallet is considered "non-custodial," meaning users retain full control of their private keys and, consequently, their crypto assets. Initially popularized on the Solana blockchain, Phantom now supports multiple blockchains, including Ethereum and Bitcoin.

From Crypto Wallet to Finance App: Phantom's Ambitious Vision

The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its market share and develop its app into a comprehensive "consumer finance app" for the crypto world. "I feel like we are in the perfect spot to actually use crypto to act as a weapon to supplant incumbents like PayPal, Cash App, Revolut, Venmo," Millman stated in an interview.

A Vote of Confidence in a Challenging Market

This funding round is particularly noteworthy given the recent slowdown in venture capital investment in the crypto space. According to PitchBook data, while overall VC investment in crypto is growing for the first time since 2021, there have been few large, late-stage investments.

"We went through a period of relative winter where there was less fundraising activity in general," said Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm. "The bar is much higher today to make a growth-stage crypto investment than it may have been three years ago."

Built to Last: The Strength of Experienced Founders

Sequoia partner Andrew Reed added that the challenging market conditions of recent years have "toughened" entrepreneurs in the crypto space. "When really talented founders spend years chipping away at a really thorny problem," Reed said, "It can create really unique product experiences."

Founded in 2021 by Millman, Chris Kalani, and Francesco Agosti, all former employees of crypto infrastructure firm 0x, Phantom has now raised over $250 million in total funding. Its previous valuation of $1.2 billion came from a 2022 round also led by Paradigm.