Phantom hires Ventuals trio as perpetual-futures push accelerates
Phantom has bolstered its trading and data teams by hiring the three creators behind Ventuals — Alvin Hsia, Emily Hsia and Aris Samad — after the Hyperliquid-based project wound down its markets. The move follows Ventuals’ shuttering of perpetual futures tied to private-company valuations, including previously offered markets on OpenAI and Anthropic.
Phantom CEO Brandon Millman publicly welcomed the team, saying he’s long followed their work and is “so excited to work alongside them.” Millman framed the hire as part of Phantom’s broader push into perpetuals and open markets, noting Phantom has become the largest distribution partner in the Hyperliquid ecosystem and intends to keep building around always-on derivatives.
Ventuals drew attention earlier this year for experimenting with perps that let traders take positions on private-company valuations — a novel application of a product more commonly tied to spot crypto prices. Perpetual futures differ from traditional futures by lacking a fixed expiry; contracts can remain open indefinitely as long as margin and funding conditions are met, which is why they’re among the most-used derivatives in crypto. Their continuous nature, deep liquidity and flexible market design have also made them attractive for trading non-listed and novel assets.
For Phantom, the hires come amid a strategic shift from pure self-custody wallet toward a broader trading platform: the company already supports swaps, staking and derivatives as wallets compete to become full-featured financial hubs. Millman said the Ventuals team will accelerate Phantom’s development of trading products tied to Hyperliquid’s on-chain liquidity and transparent infrastructure.
The timing also reflects a wider trend: perpetual futures are moving beyond crypto-native venues. Traditional and regulated platforms are testing always-on derivatives too — for example, Kalshi launched a perpetual-futures business last month following regulatory approval — underscoring growing institutional and mainstream interest in perpetual markets.
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