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Phantom vs MetaMask: two self-custody wallets that converged from opposite chains
Both are self-custody hot wallets that now cover the same chains. Phantom was born Solana-native and spread outward; MetaMask was born EVM-native and reached Solana in May 2025. The choice left is about polish, ecosystem, and whose trade-offs you can live with.
Phantom and MetaMask are the two most-installed self-custody wallets in crypto, built from opposite ends of the market. Phantom shipped in 2021 as the Solana wallet; MetaMask has been the default Ethereum wallet since 2016. For most of their lives the answer to 'which one' was whichever chain you lived on — and in 2025 that stopped being true.
Every row below names its source and date. Neither wallet holds your funds — both are non-custodial hot wallets — so the comparison runs on coverage, client model, features, and the record each carries, not on custody claims.
The parameter table
| Parameter | Phantom | MetaMask |
|---|---|---|
| Custody model | Self-custody hot wallet; keys encrypted locally under a Secret Recovery Phrase (Phantom docs, as of 2026-09-28). | Self-custody hot wallet; keys encrypted locally under a Secret Recovery Phrase (MetaMask docs, as of 2026-09-28). |
| Launched / operator | 2021; Phantom Technologies Inc., US, VC-backed — a $150M Series C at a ~$3B valuation in January 2025 (reported; company-confirmed). | 2016; built by Consensys, Brooklyn (Consensys, as of 2026-09-28). |
| Chain coverage | Solana-native; added Ethereum, Polygon, Bitcoin, Base, Sui and others across 2023–2025 (Phantom docs, as of 2026-09-28). | Every EVM chain natively; Solana became its first non-EVM network on May 27, 2025 in extension v12.18, with mobile following (MetaMask/Consensys announcements). |
| Client source | Closed-source client; security handled via in-app simulation and warnings (vendor posture, as of 2026-09-28). | Open-source client plus the Snaps plugin system for community-built extensions (Consensys, as of 2026-09-28). |
| In-app swap fee | ~0.85% platform fee on wallet-integrated swaps (Phantom docs/fee schedule, as of 2026-09-28). | 0.875% service fee on MetaMask Swaps (MetaMask docs, as of 2026-09-28). |
| Signature extras | SOL staking, in-app perpetuals powered by Hyperliquid rails, NFT tooling, P&L view (Phantom docs, as of 2026-09-28). | Snaps plugin ecosystem, MetaMask Card, portfolio dapp, institutional line (Consensys, as of 2026-09-28). |
| Notable incident file | November 2024 iOS update logged some users out of wallets lacking backed-up recovery phrases; plus the August-2022 Slope-linked Solana drain that hit Phantom users without breaching Phantom itself (documented). | December-2022 Infura IP-logging disclosure (policy later changed); May-2023 ToS §4.3 tax panic — publicly debunked as sales-tax language on paid products (documented). |
| Tax reporting | None — self-custody software files no forms; reporting is the user's job (our does-phantom-report-to-IRS file, 2026-09). | None — same structural answer (our does-metamask-report-to-IRS file, 2026-09). |
How each became multichain
The convergence ran in both directions. Phantom spent 2023–2025 bolting non-Solana chains onto a Solana-native interface — Ethereum and Polygon first, then Bitcoin and Base, then Sui and beyond — keeping the single-account-per-chain model it was built around. MetaMask spent the same years adding non-EVM reach the other way: first through Snaps (community plugins), then natively — Solana shipped in extension v12.18 on May 27, 2025, its first non-EVM network ever, with Bitcoin support announced on the roadmap the same year.
The result is genuine overlap for the first time: a user can hold SOL, ETH, and BTC in either wallet today. The residual difference is where each feels native — Phantom's Solana UX (stake accounts, token accounts, perps) versus MetaMask's EVM depth (custom networks, Snaps, hardware-wallet pairing breadth).
Custody is the same; auditability isn't
Both wallets store an encrypted local vault derived from a Secret Recovery Phrase, both sign locally, and neither can move your funds without your key. The models diverge on verification. MetaMask's client is open source — anyone can read the key-handling code — and Snaps extend it inside a permissioned sandbox. Phantom's client is closed source; you verify it by its patch cadence, its in-app transaction simulation, and its fraud-warning stack rather than by reading it.
Same vault, different proof. MetaMask asks you to trust code you can inspect; Phantom asks you to trust a vendor whose code you can't. Neither model has produced a seed-theft event at the wallet layer itself — Phantom's documented incidents are an iOS logout bug and a supply-chain drain on users of another wallet — but the way each earns confidence is opposite, and it is a real reason people choose one over the other.
The feature layer
Phantom's extras live inside crypto: native SOL staking, an integrated perpetuals product routed over Hyperliquid rails, NFT galleries, and a P&L view the vendor itself says is not a tax report. MetaMask's extras reach further out: Swaps aggregation across DEXs at a 0.875% documented service fee, the Snaps ecosystem, the MetaMask Card, a portfolio dapp, and MetaMask Institutional for funds and desks.
On ramping, both are brokers of other people's ramps — MoonPay, Coinbase Pay, and similar providers sit inside each, and those partners carry their own KYC. The wallet never becomes the counterparty either way.
The record each carries
Phantom's incident file is small and honest about its edges: the August-2022 Solana drain that emptied ~8,000 wallets was traced to Slope's seed handling — Phantom users were hit as a neighboring wallet, not via a Phantom breach — and the November-2024 iOS update that signed users out taught a user-costly lesson about backing up phrases, with no funds lost through the app itself. MetaMask's file is disclosure-shaped rather than loss-shaped: the December-2022 revelation that default-RPC Infura logged wallet IPs (data handling later changed), and the May-2023 §4.3 terms panic that proved to be sales-tax language on paid products, not crypto withholding.
Neither file contains a breach of the wallet's own key store — which is why this comparison turns on architecture and ecosystem rather than a safety verdict.
Who should pick Phantom, who should pick MetaMask
Pick Phantom if Solana is where you live — its SOL staking, token-account handling, and perps are built around Solana's mental model, and its Solana dapp compatibility is the ecosystem default. Pick MetaMask if EVM is where you live — custom networks, every L2, hardware-wallet pairing breadth, Snaps, and the deepest dapp-compatibility surface in crypto are its native ground.
If you genuinely live on both chains, the honest answer most users land on is running both — they interoperate through the same assets, and each is better in its native territory than the other's version of it. The install cost of carrying a second wallet is one more icon; the cost of forcing a single wallet to do the other's native job is paid every day in friction.
Frequently asked
Is Phantom or MetaMask safer?
Neither has suffered a breach of its own key store — the files differ in shape, not severity. MetaMask is open source (auditable) with the Infura IP-logging disclosure on record; Phantom is closed source with an iOS logout incident and a neighboring-wallet drain (Slope) that hit its users. The risk profiles are equivalent in kind.
Can MetaMask hold Solana now?
Yes — native Solana shipped in extension v12.18 on May 27, 2025, MetaMask's first non-EVM network, with mobile support following and Bitcoin announced on the same roadmap.
Does Phantom work on Ethereum and Bitcoin?
Yes — Phantom added Ethereum, Polygon, Bitcoin, Base, Sui, and further chains through 2023–2025, while remaining Solana-native in feel.
Which has lower swap fees?
They're nearly identical — Phantom's in-app swap fee runs ~0.85% and MetaMask Swaps charges a documented 0.875% service fee. The real cost difference is routing and the chains' own fees, not the platform toll.
Do Phantom or MetaMask report to the IRS?
Neither — both are self-custody software that issue no tax forms; the reporting obligation sits entirely on the user. See our standalone does-phantom-report-to-IRS and does-metamask-report-to-IRS files.
Which supports more chains?
MetaMask — every EVM chain plus Solana natively. Phantom covers the majors (SOL, BTC, ETH, Polygon, Base, Sui and more) but not arbitrary EVM networks; chain count is MetaMask's structural advantage.