Summary

At Breakpoint 2023, Brian Friel, Developer Relations Manager at Phantom, presented Phantom’s commitment to tackling the challenge of user retention in the cryptocurrency space. Stressing the importance of user experience (UX), Friel outlined how Phantom, a prevalent Solana-based wallet service, aims to engage, retain, and drive demand among crypto users. Beyond just redesigning their logo, Phantom introduced various features focused on safety, ease of use, and actionable insights within the wallet's interface. Friel highlighted how Phantom is enhancing the user experience through innovative measures, including the 'Shortcuts' protocol, auto-confirm feature, and an upcoming discovery platform named Explorer, specifically tailored for crypto users and developers.

Key Points:

Phantom's Mission and Approach

Phantom is viewed as a leading figure in the crypto wallet space, renowned for making the use of cryptocurrency safe and user-friendly. The wallet service places a significant emphasis on security, halting dangerous transactions and providing continuous global support to protect against phishing attacks. User experience, as described by Friel, is an ongoing focus for improvement within Phantom; this dedication was underscored by their handling of over 100 million transactions in the past year.

User Engagement and Stats

Surprisingly, on average, a Phantom wallet user typically interacts with only one DApp, and nearly 35% of funded users have never connected to any DApp through Phantom. To intensify user engagement, Phantom has launched 'Shortcuts,' allowing developers to surface actions that they want their users to take directly within the wallet. This has seen a 70% click-through rate on the shortcuts—an impressive number even when compared to Web 2.0 standards.

Frictionless Experience and Auto-Confirm

Phantom acknowledges the potential complexities in crypto usability and has reintroduced the "auto-confirm" feature. It simplifies transactions by allowing users to trust select dApps to process transactions without additional confirmations. Since being reintroduced, this feature has seen a collective time saving of over 347 days for users, signaling its impact in reducing the friction typically associated with transaction confirmations.

Driving Demand with Explorer and Quests

Phantom is dedicated to guiding users to discover new opportunities within the Solana ecosystem. The upcoming Explorer feature will suggest trending dApps, tokens, and collectibles, while the novel Quests initiative has generated significant user participation. It signals that if users actively transact after funding their wallets, they're much more likely to become recurrent users—accentuating the importance of creating more opportunities for discovery within Phantom.

Facts + Figures

• Over the last year, despite challenges in the Solana ecosystem, Phantom users processed over 100 million transactions.
• The average Phantom user engages with just one decentralized application (DApp).
• Around 35% of users with funded wallets have never connected to a DApp, while 49% have never made a transaction with a DApp on Solana.
• The 'Shortcuts' feature has a click-through rate of about 70%.
• Since its reintroduction, the auto-confirm feature saved users over 347 days worth of time.
• Phantom's new discovery platform, 'Explorer,' will soon help users discover trending projects and opportunities within the ecosystem.
• Quests, a new initiative by Phantom, shows promising engagement, with one Quest attracting over 20,000 users in a single week.

Top quotes

• "Phantom's mission and our goal is to accelerate the adoption of crypto by making it safe and easy to use."
• "The average Phantom user engages with just one DApp."
• "Of all the funded users that we have, 35% of these funded users have never even connected to a DAP before."
• "We released [Shortcuts] in the last month, and this has quickly become the best way for creators to push on-chain actions."
• "FANIM users collectively saved over 347 days worth of time."
• "If people are opting into auto-confirm on these experiences... they're doing more transactions."
• "Explorer will evolve from just a simple tool that's used to sign transactions to a primary destination for discovery."
• "We think about how all these boil together... Phantom is going to be investing heavily in solving the retention problem for all of crypto."

Questions Answered

What is Phantom's main goal with its wallet service?

Phantom aims to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency by ensuring it is safe and easy to use. The wallet service emphasizes security and has processes to protect users from potentially harmful transactions, phishing attacks, and provides ongoing global support.

How is Phantom planning to increase user engagement?

Phantom plans to increase user engagement through a new feature called 'Shortcuts,' which allows users to quickly access actions suggested by DApp creators directly within the wallet. With a high click-through rate, this seeks to make users more active and engaged.

What is Phantom's auto-confirm feature, and how does it improve the user experience?

The auto-confirm feature reduces friction by allowing users to pre-approve certain trusted dApps, eliminating the need for confirmation for each transaction. This feature has significantly saved time for users, enhancing the transaction experience on Phantom.

How will Phantom help users discover new activities or DApps?

Phantom is introducing a new feature called 'Explorer' within the wallet, which will provide users with insights into trending dApps, tokens, and collectibles. This aims to inform users and motivate them to explore new opportunities in the Solana ecosystem.

What is the significance of the new features and how do they aim to resolve the retention dilemma in crypto?

The significance of Phantom's new features lies in their potential to solve the crypto retention problem. By engaging users through 'Shortcuts,' removing transaction friction with the auto-confirm feature, and driving demand and discovery with 'Explorer' and 'Quests,' Phantom is positioning itself as not just a transaction tool, but a central portal for discovering and exploring the rapidly expanding world of crypto on Solana.