Ventuals Core Team Joins Phantom
On July 1, 2026, Phantom wallet officially announced that Alvin Hsia, Emily Hsia, and Aris Samad — three co-founders of Ventuals, one of the most advanced perpetual futures products built on Hyperliquid — are joining Phantom. They start this week, working within Phantom's trading and data teams.
Ventuals achieved over $1 billion in annualized trading volume, establishing itself as a leading product in the Hyperliquid ecosystem. The three founders previously held senior roles at Airbnb, Brex, and Paradigm, giving them deep expertise in product engineering, trading systems, and crypto market infrastructure. Phantom co-founder and CEO Brandon Millman described them as 'among the most respected builders in perpetual futures.'
Phantom Deepens Perpetuals Focus
Over the past year, Phantom has become the largest distribution partner in the Hyperliquid ecosystem, making open markets a major strategic focus. The wallet has invested heavily in perpetuals and intends to go even deeper. 'Hyperliquid is one of the best examples anywhere of what open markets make possible: deep, global liquidity and transparent onchain infrastructure that the whole industry is converging on,' Millman wrote in the announcement.
By bringing in the Ventuals team, Phantom aims to internalize native Hyperliquid expertise and accelerate product development. The new hires will help Phantom improve trading experience, data analytics, and market depth, moving the wallet closer to competing with centralized exchanges in the perpetuals space.
Open Market Vision and Industry Impact
Phantom's long-term vision is to 'connect the world to the freedom of open markets,' believing that permissionless networks will ultimately beat closed systems. This hiring move is a concrete step toward that vision. As perpetuals volumes grow across Ethereum, Solana, and other chains, wallets are evolving from simple storage tools into full-fledged trading platforms. Phantom's poaching of Ventuals talent reflects both a validation of Hyperliquid's technology and a broader trend of talent migration from protocol layers to middleware distribution platforms.
For Hyperliquid, losing core team members may have short-term effects, but the continued operation and governance of Ventuals remain to be seen. The move signals intensifying competition in the perpetuals space, with top-tier talent being absorbed by large distribution platforms. How Phantom leverages this talent to gain an edge in open markets will be closely watched.