What to Know
- Phantom announced Phantom Chat, a new social feature planned for launch inside the wallet in 2026.
- Investigator ZachXBT warned it could increase scam risk if address poisoning issues remain unfixed.
- A recent victim reportedly lost 3.5 WBTC after copying a look-alike spam address from transaction history.
Phantom has announced a new feature called Phantom Chat, planned for release in 2026. The feature is being presented as a built-in social layer inside the wallet, allowing users to communicate more easily around crypto activity. However, blockchain investigator ZachXBT has raised security concerns, warning that the feature could open a new path for scams and theft if existing wallet safety issues are not fixed first.
Phantom Plans Social Expansion With Phantom Chat
Phantom shared a teaser post outlining its product direction over the next few years:
“2024: Telegram
2025: X Communities
2026: Phantom Chat”
With this, Phantom is signaling that social interaction will become a bigger part of the wallet experience. While full details are not yet public, Phantom Chat is expected to work as a messaging or social communication tool connected to wallet activity.
The move follows a broader trend in crypto apps trying to combine finance and social features in one place. The idea is to make it easier for users to connect, share, and coordinate directly inside their wallets instead of relying only on outside platforms like Discord, Telegram or X. Supporters are very excited about this and are saying this could improve user experience and community engagement.
ZachXBT Warns of Theft Risks
Shortly after Phantom’s announcement, on-chain investigator ZachXBT responded with a sharp warning. He said Phantom Chat could become “a new method for people to get drained,” meaning users could lose funds through new scam methods. His main concern is that Phantom has not yet fully fixed a known problem called address poisoning.
Address poisoning is a trick where scammers send tiny spam transactions from wallet addresses that look very similar to a victim’s real contact or past transaction address. When users later check their transaction history, they may accidentally copy the scam address instead of the correct one and send funds to the attacker. ZachXBT said Phantom’s current interface still does not properly filter out spam transactions. Because of that, fake look-alike addresses can appear in recent activity lists and confuse users.
3.5 WBTC Lost
To support his warning, ZachXBT shared a recent example. According to his disclosure, a user lost 3.5 WBTC last week due to this exact issue. He explained that the victim copied the wrong address from their recent transaction list because the first characters looked similar to the intended address. The wallet interface did not clearly filter or flag the spam entry. He publicly shared the alleged theft address and transaction ID, saying the loss could likely have been prevented with better spam filtering and clearer warnings inside the wallet.
Other crypto users also joined the discussion. One X user, Louis Ng, commented that wallet builders should focus on safety before adding more features. He wrote that address poisoning is a solvable problem, but it requires wallet developers to put user protection ahead of feature expansion.
This reflects a wider debate in crypto product design. Many apps are racing to add prediction markets, messaging, social feeds and community tools. But security researchers argue that wallets which directly hold user funds must treat safety features as the top priority.
Final Thoughts
Until stronger protections are added, users can reduce risk by taking a few simple steps:
- Double-check the full wallet address before sending funds
- Avoid copying addresses directly from recent transaction history
- Save and reuse verified addresses in a personal address book
- Be cautious of small random incoming transactions
Phantom has not yet issued a detailed response to the specific address poisoning criticism. As Phantom Chat moves toward its planned 2026 launch, many users will be watching closely to see whether security improvements arrive first.
Also Read: Vitalik Explains Ethereum’s Role in AI Development
