Phantom wallet is resisting the crypto industry’s IPO boom, with CEO Brandon Millman confirming the company will not seek to go public, launch a token, or build its own blockchain.
Strategic Pivot
While rivals like Kraken and Circle pursue public listings, Phantom is prioritizing sustainable product growth and Solana integration over market hype.
Bucking the Industry Trend
In a landscape where major players are rushing toward Wall Street, Phantom is choosing a different path. CEO Brandon Millman told the Empire podcast that the company intends to stay private "for as long as it makes sense." While acknowledging that Phantom is one of the few on-chain consumer companies that could IPO, Millman emphasized that access to private funding makes a public listing unnecessary.
This decision stands in stark contrast to competitors. Circle debuted on the NYSE recently, Kraken closed a massive pre-IPO raise, and Ledger and Tether are eyeing listings. However, experts argue Phantom's choice reflects a maturity in the sector.
Just because you can go public from a revenue perspective does not mean you need to or that you should. Many companies make the decision to stay private and are quite profitable with their own organic growth.
The Risks of Tokens and Custom Chains
Millman also dismissed the idea of a native Phantom token, a strategy often used by Web3 projects to bootstrap liquidity. He noted that issuing a token creates a "responsibility to stakeholders" that can complicate business operations. Referring to past experiences, he highlighted how external market factors can negatively impact sentiment toward a project solely based on token price action.
Furthermore, Phantom has no plans to build its own Layer 2 or blockchain. Millman described launching a proprietary chain as "antithetical to the open, permissionless nature of crypto," reaffirming the wallet's commitment to reinvesting in the Solana ecosystem.
Analyst Perspectives on Staying Private
Market analysts view this conservative approach as potentially advantageous. Maja Vujinovic, CEO of FG Nexus, suggested that staying private allows Phantom to "focus on product, not quarterly earnings or market volatility." By avoiding the regulatory burdens and shareholder pressures of an IPO, the company can remain nimble.
While Phantom is heavily reliant on Solana—with revenue showing a 97% correlation to the network's performance—this focus has allowed it to capture significant market share. During trading surges, Phantom has accounted for over 33% of total volume on the network, proving that a focused, private strategy can yield massive influence without the need for Wall Street validation.