The race is also spreading beyond crypto. Last month, prediction market operator Kalshi launched its own perpetual futures business after regulatory approval, joining exchanges betting that always-on derivatives will become a bigger part of financial markets.
For Phantom, the hires are part of a wider push into trading.
Best known as one of crypto’s largest self-managed wallets, Phantom has steadily expanded beyond asset storage to swaps, stakes and derivatives as wallets increasingly compete to become full-service financial apps rather than simple interfaces for holding tokens.
The company said it has become the largest distribution partner in the Hyperliquid ecosystem and plans to deepen its focus on perpetual futures.
“Open markets have become a major focus for us,” Millman wrote. “We have gone deep into the perpetrators and we intend to go deeper.”
Millman described Hyperliquid as “one of the best examples anywhere of what open markets make possible,” pointing to its global liquidity and transparent onchain infrastructure.
Bringing the Ventuals team on board will help Phantom accelerate its efforts to build commerce products around the ecosystem, he said.
