Panic At Phantom, Cryptocurrency Users Trapped

The company Phantom, a major provider of wallets for the Solana ecosystem, is facing a technical crisis following a faulty update of its iOS application that led to the disconnection of numerous users. An emergency patch has been deployed, but the situation remains concerning for those who have lost their recovery phrases.

Phantom crypto wallets on iOS affected by a major outage

On November 14, 2024, users of the Phantom app on iOS began reporting major malfunctions after installing an update. The main issue concerns the unexpected reset of the application, forcing users to restore their wallets via their recovery phrases.

This situation has particularly affected holders who did not carefully keep these secret phrases, potentially depriving them of access to their crypto assets.

The severity of the situation quickly manifested on social media, where many users reported significant losses. One investor notably reported losing access to a wallet containing the equivalent of 600,000 dollars, while others saw their balances mysteriously disappear overnight.

In the face of this crisis, Phantom quickly acknowledged the issue on its X account, describing the incident as affecting “a small number of iOS users.”

Phantom’s response and the limits of possible support

Phantom’s reaction centered around two main axes. First, the company immediately released a corrective update to stop the problem from spreading. Then, it set up dedicated support for affected users, while reminding them of the limits of its possible intervention.

Indeed, as a non-custodial wallet, Phantom does not store users’ recovery phrases, in accordance with the principles of crypto decentralization.

This feature, usually regarded as an advantage in terms of security, becomes problematic in this particular context, as the company cannot directly assist users who have lost their recovery phrases.

This situation underscores the crucial importance of backing up recovery phrases in the crypto universe, where the responsibility for security largely rests on the end user.

In the immediate future, Phantom recommends affected users to contact their support team, while committing to take necessary measures to prevent this situation from recurring in the future.