Phantom Wallet: Perp Trading via Hyperliquid

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Good Morning.

Big news today from Hyperliquid land. This is a very very smart move from Phantom, also showing how powerful liquidity as a service is from HYPE. Liquidity is CEX’s largest moat, and Hyperliquid really changes the paradigm by opening it up for builders. Crypto ethos, at least from the business POV, has always stood on the side of: "we decentralize it, own less of the pie, but let’s grow the pie together".

In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Strategy’s $4.2B Preferred Stock Sale 💰️ 

• Case Study: SharpLink Holds 205K ETH 🔎 

• Governance & Features: Phantom Adds Perp Trading 👻 

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WHAT MATTERS

Strategy’s $4.2B Preferred Stock Sale for More BTC

State of play: Strategy announced it will sell up to $4.2B of its 10% Series A Perpetual Stride Preferred Stock (STRD) through an at-the-market (ATM) program.

• The proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes, mainly buying more BTC, as well as working capital and paying dividends.

• This move is part of Strategy’s broader “42/42” capital plan to raise $84B through equity and debt by 2027 to fund BTC acquisitions.

• Strategy briefly paused BTC purchases between June 30 and July 6, the first pause in three months.

• However, it still holds 597,325 BTC (~2.8% of total supply), purchased at an average of $70,982 per BTC.

• The firm reported a $14.05B unrealized gain on its BTC holdings in Q2, incurring $4.04B in deferred tax expenses.

• Strategy previously raised $6.8B last quarter via sales of common stock and other perpetual preferred shares.

Why it matters: The move reflects a broader trend of institutional adoption but raises questions about sustainability and exposure.

Our take: Just saylor doing his things.

For builders and investors: This trend will continue to siphon liquidity from onchain altcoins. You need a very clear differentiation these days.

CASE STUDY

SharpLink Now Holds 205K ETH

SharpLink Gaming disclosed it holds 205,634 ETH worth about $527.4M as of July 4, making it the second-largest ether treasury after the Ethereum Foundation.

• Between June 28 and July 4, SharpLink bought 7,689 ETH for approximately $19.7M at an average price of $2,501 per token.

• The company raised $64M by selling nearly 5.5M shares through an at-the-market program, planning to use $37.2M of that to buy more ETH.

• Since launching its ether-focused treasury strategy on June 2, SharpLink has also earned 322 ETH (~$826,000) from staking rewards.

The pivot toward aggressively building an ETH treasury follows a $425M private placement led by Consensys. Joseph Lubin, Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder, became SharpLink’s chairman in June.

• The move puts SharpLink alongside other public companies like DeFi Development Corporation and Upexi that are building significant altcoin treasuries in 2025.

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INSIGHTS

PumpFun Token Sale Pulled After Backlash

PumpFun planned to sell 150B PUMP tokens for $600M on Gate, but the listing vanished. Critics called it “bad optics” since the project has already made $700M from revenue and users expected an airdrop, not a big token sale.

• The deleted listing valued PUMP at $4B overall, sparking accusations that the sale was opportunistic amid a cooling memecoin market.

• While an airdrop may still happen, no official statements have clarified the sale’s status.

• Pump.fun has also lost ground to competitor LetsBonk, which has surpassed it in tokens created and revenue.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Phantom Adds Perp Trading via Hyperliquid

Phantom is launching perp contract trading directly inside its web3 wallet, starting with EU users. Powered by Hyperliquid’s API, the feature offers up to 40x leverage, stop-loss, take-profit, and real-time alerts while keeping full non-custodial control.

• The move highlights Phantom’s strategy to make wallets the main hub for onchain activity, as exchanges also expand their perp trading offerings.

• Hyperliquid has handled over $1.57T in perp trading volume in the past year and supports collateral deposits across multiple blockchains.

• The company recently raised $150M at a $3B valuation but says it has no plans to issue a token.

Other notable feature updates:

• Vertex to sunset VRTX token.

• Cake Wallet onboards dEURO.

• BOB launches BitVM Bridge testnet.

• Status unveils gasless L2 feature on Linea.

• OpenSea expands to mobile with Rally deal.

• Polygon Heimdall v2 upgrade set for July 10.

• Story and World partner to verify IP ownership on-chain.

• Circle and OKX launch zero-fee USDC conversions to US dollar.

QUICK BITES

• New Zealand to ban crypto ATMs.

• BlackRock's IBIT surpasses 700,000 BTC in AUM.

• Ripple’s RLUSD hits $500M supply within seven months.

• Dubai approves tokenized money market fund in RWA drive.

• Robinhood engages with regulators over tokenized equities.

• Eigen Labs lays off 25% of its workforce to focus on EigenCloud.

• PumpFun's token sale has 'bad optics' and now seems in limbo.

• Two men charged in $650M global fraud scheme involving crypto.

• Crypto stocks soar in Hong Kong as stablecoin momentum builds.

• Phantom unveils direct perp trading support, powered by Hyperliquid.

• Upexi's SOL holdings climb above 735,000 as it eyes tokenized equity.

• GameSquare surges 60% after the board approves $100M ETH treasury.

• SharpLink discloses holding 205K ETH in the 2nd-largest treasury behind EF.

• South Korea seeks to grant startup benefits to crypto firms via reclassification.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Ryan Connor’s read on net new assets.

• Electric Capital’s read on beyond stablecoin.

• Mason Nystrom’s read on the fastest revenue scalers in crypto.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.