Phantom doubles down on perpetual futures with hire of Hyperliquid market builders

Finance Phantom doubles down on perpetual futures with hire of Hyperliquid market builders The crypto wallet is doubling down on perpetual futures after hiring the builders behind one of Hyperliquid's highest-profile market experiments. By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Stephen Alpher Jun 30, 2026, 9:00 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Phantom CEO Brandon Millman. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)) Summary Show Phantom hired the team behind Ventuals, the project that recently shut down OpenAI and Anthropic perpetual futures on Hyperliquid. The hiring aims to boost Phantom's plans to "go deeper" on perpetuals and open markets as wallets increasingly evolve into trading platforms, CEO Millman said. Perpetual futures have become one of crypto's fastest-growing products, expanding beyond digital assets into traditional markets. The team behind one of Hyperliquid's highest-profile private-company trading projects has found a new home. Crypto wallet Phantom said Tuesday it hired Alvin Hsia, Emily Hsia and Aris Samad, the creators of Ventuals, the project that shut down its OpenAI and Anthropic perpetual futures markets earlier this week. The trio will join Phantom's trading and data teams, according to Phantom CEO Brandon Millman. The move comes after Ventuals announced earlier this month it was winding down and joining another project within the Hyperliquid ecosystem, ending one of the exchange's most prominent experiments in trading private-company valuations onchain. Perpetual futures have evolved from a crypto-native innovation into one of the industry's most important products. They are a type of derivative that allows investors to speculate on future price movements without putting an expiration date on that contract, allowing it to be held as long as the investor wants. Their around-the-clock trading, high liquidity and ability to track virtually any asset have made them a popular vehicle for everything from crypto speculation to bets on private companies and commodities. 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 larger part of financial markets. For Phantom, the hires are part of a broader push into trading. Best known as one of crypto's largest self-custody wallets, Phantom has steadily expanded beyond asset storage into swaps, staking 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've gone deep on perps, 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 on the Ventuals team will help Phantom accelerate its efforts to build trading products around the ecosystem, he said. Latest Crypto News 1 Companies spending the most on AI are growing jobs, Ramp study finds 39 minutes ago 2 Why OpenUSD's 'real threat' that tanked Circle stock still faces a steep uphill battle for adoption 2 hours ago 3 SEC giving novel ETFs a rethink as it opens comment period on overhauling U.S. rules 3 hours ago 4 Chinese exile once linked to Trump strategist gets 30-year sentence in $1 billion fraud 4 hours ago 5 Jefferies warns of crypto market volatility as Clarity Act faces Senate test 6 hours ago 6 Circle craters 17% as Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock back rival stablecoin network 6 hours ago 7 MetaMask launches Money Account with stablecoin yield and spending in one wallet 7 hours ago 8 Tokenized securities need competition, not gatekeepers 7 hours ago 9 Nasdaq expands distribution of its market data into blockchain infrastructure 8 hours ago 10 Bitcoin’s quiet $59,000-$60,000 range is starting to look dangerous 9 hours ago Latest Research Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. By CoinDesk Research 10 hours ago Commissioned by GenZcash Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. Why it matters : Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. View Full Report More From Finance Companies spending the most on AI are growing jobs, Ramp study finds Why OpenUSD's 'real threat' that tanked Circle stock still faces a steep uphill battle for adoption Circle craters 17% as Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock back rival stablecoin network