Phantom Hires Ventuals Founders to Expand Hyperliquid Perpetual Futures Trading

Phantom has strengthened its push into crypto trading by hiring the team behind Ventuals, one of the most recognized private-company trading projects built on the Hyperliquid ecosystem. On Tuesday, the crypto wallet provider announced that Alvin Hsia, Emily Hsia, and Aris Samad have joined the company after Ventuals recently shut down its OpenAI and Anthropic perpetual futures markets.

According to Phantom CEO Brandon Millman, the three new hires will become part of the company's trading and data teams, supporting Phantom's long-term strategy to expand its derivatives offerings and strengthen its presence in the Hyperliquid ecosystem.

The move follows Ventuals' announcement earlier this month that it would discontinue operations and integrate with another project within Hyperliquid. The closure marked the end of one of the blockchain platform's most notable experiments in offering onchain markets tied to the valuations of private companies.

Perpetual futures have become one of the crypto industry's most significant financial products. Unlike traditional futures contracts, perpetual futures have no expiration date, allowing traders to maintain positions indefinitely while speculating on future price movements. Their continuous trading, deep liquidity, and flexibility have made them increasingly popular for trading cryptocurrencies, commodities, and even synthetic exposure to private companies.

Interest in perpetual futures is also expanding beyond the digital asset sector. Last month, prediction market platform Kalshi launched its own perpetual futures business after receiving regulatory approval, highlighting growing confidence that always-on derivatives could play a larger role in global financial markets.

For Phantom, the latest hires reinforce its transformation from a self-custody crypto wallet into a broader financial platform. While the company initially gained popularity for secure digital asset storage, it has steadily expanded into token swaps, staking services, and derivatives trading as competition among crypto wallets intensifies.

Millman said Phantom has already become the largest distribution partner within the Hyperliquid ecosystem and intends to further increase its investment in perpetual futures products. He described open markets as a key strategic focus and emphasized that the company plans to continue building advanced trading tools.

He also praised Hyperliquid as one of the strongest examples of transparent, onchain financial infrastructure, citing its global liquidity and open-market design. By bringing the Ventuals founders into the company, Phantom aims to accelerate the development of innovative trading products and strengthen its position in the rapidly growing crypto derivatives market.