Phantom

Neither. Phantom is a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet and consumer finance platform. It does not manage external capital, charge management fees, or operate a fund structure. Revenue comes from in-app swap fees and related product activity.

Phantom does not make investment decisions in the GP sense because it is not an investment firm. Strategic capital allocation decisions rest with CEO Brandon Millman and the executive team. The $150 million Series C raise in January 2025 was led by Sequoia and Paradigm and is directed at product development, not fund deployment.

Phantom earns revenue primarily through a small fee on in-app token swaps. The platform also generates income from the Phantom Visa debit card program, though the card is issued by Lead Bank under a fintech partnership. There is no management fee or carried interest component.

Phantom itself does not make fund commitments or proprietary venture investments as a core business activity. The firm's treasury may hold assets from its capital raises, but its public posture is that of an operating company, not an allocator.

Phantom began as a Solana-only wallet and has since added support for Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Polygon. The multichain architecture allows users to manage assets across several major L1s and L2s from a single interface.

The Phantom prepaid Visa debit card is issued by Lead Bank, with Bridge Ventures LLC serving as program manager. Phantom acts as the platform provider that handles the application and user interface layer. User funds held for card spending are distinct from self-custodied wallet assets.

Phantom is explicitly self-custodial, meaning the company never holds or controls user private keys or funds. This contrasts with centralized exchanges that manage customer assets on a custodial basis. The wallet's security model includes scam detection and Ledger hardware-wallet integration.