Phantom Overtakes Coinbase in App Store as Memecoin Mania

Phantom,
a
decentralized
crypto
wallet,
has
surged
past
Coinbase
(COIN)
in
the
Apple
App
Store
rankings,
indicating
a
shift
towards
on-chain
transactions
as
traders
turn
to
high-risk
memecoins.
This
trend
is
being
fueled
in
part
by
TikTok,
where
users
are
learning
how
to
navigate
wallets
that
are
more
complex
than
centralized
exchanges
such
as
Coinbase.

Phantom
CEO
Brandon
Millman
explains,
“Traditional
centralized
exchanges
can’t
keep
up
with
all
of
the
new
on-chain
paradigms
fast
enough.”
The
shift
is
notable,
as
Coinbase’s
App
Store
ranking
has
long
been
a
measure
of
retail
trader
participation
in
a
bull
market.
However,
this
bull
run
is
seeing
a
different
player
ascend
the
ladder.

At
press
time,
Phantom
had
climbed
to
the
seventh
spot
among
free
applications
on
Apple’s
U.S.
App
Store,
well
ahead
of
Coinbase,
which
stood
at
27th.
This
challenges
the
notion
that
mainstream
traders
prefer
the
more
accessible
user
experience
offered
by
platforms
like
Coinbase.

The
memecoin
trend
has
played
a
significant
role
in
this
shift.
Established
exchanges
like
Coinbase
often
don’t
list
new,
highly
speculative,
and
risky
joke
tokens
that
traders
are
eager
to
bet
on.
To
access
these
tokens,
traders
are
turning
to
on-chain
platforms
like
Phantom.

One
memecoin,
Chill
Guy,
has
garnered
significant
attention
on
TikTok
and
on-chain
bids.
Supported
by
a
robust
social
media
campaign,
CHILLGUY’s
market
cap
skyrocketed
to
$500
million
in
just
a
matter
of
days.
Acquiring
CHILLGUY
and
other
new
memecoins
requires
more
effort
than
more
established
tokens.
Traders
must
navigate
decentralized
exchanges
and
grapple
with
intricate
order
settings.

Whether
TikTok
is
the
primary
driver
of
new
on-chain
users
remains
to
be
seen.
The
app’s
crypto
scene
lacks
viral
videos
with
millions
of
views.
Instead,
it
is
populated
by
crypto
enthusiasts
sharing
their
aspirations
of
wealth
and
tutorials
on
how
to
download
Phantom.

Coinbase
isn’t
completely
ignoring
the
memecoin
trend.
In
the
past
week,
it
has
added
FLOKI
and
PEPE,
along
with
WIF
for
German
traders.
These
tokens
have
larger
market
caps
and
are
relatively
more
stable
than
newer
memecoins
only
accessible
on-chain.

A
spokesperson
for
Coinbase
stated,
“Our
mission
is
to
increase
economic
freedom
in
the
world,
and
we
know
we
can’t
do
it
alone.
We
believe
a
rising
tide
raises
all
boats,
and
we
are
thrilled
to
see
more
people
engaging
on-chain
and
with
crypto
over
the
last
few
weeks.”

While
Coinbase
is
still
dipping
its
toes
into
the
memecoin
space,
it
is
looking
to
foster
and
capitalize
on
this
trend
with
its
layer-2
network,
Base.
Although
Base’s
memecoin
scene
isn’t
as
vibrant
as
Solana’s
(SOL),
it
still
sees
millions
of
dollars
in
daily
volume.

The
spokesperson
added,
“We’re
focused
on
making
on-chain
faster,
cheaper
and
easier
to
use,
so
on-chain
technology
is
accessible
to
anyone,
anywhere
in
the
world.
We’re
looking
forward
to
bringing
a
billion
people
on-chain.”