How to set up a Phantom wallet safely for Solana

To set up a Phantom wallet, download it only from phantom.com or your phone's official app store, choose to create a new wallet, set a password and write the 12-word recovery phrase on paper that you keep offline. Then copy your Solana address, send a small test amount of SOL from your exchange, and only send more once it has arrived. Phantom is a self-custody wallet: nobody, including Phantom, can restore it for you if you lose the recovery phrase.

Before It Rugs is not affiliated with Phantom or Solflare. These steps follow Phantom's help centre at the time of writing (October 2026). Labels move, so check if something looks different.

The words you need first

Self-custody wallet: an app where you hold the keys yourself. No company can freeze, reverse or recover anything for you.
Recovery phrase: the 12 words that can rebuild your wallet on any device. Whoever has them has your money.
Solana address: your public account number. It is safe to share so people can send you tokens.
SOL: Solana's main currency. You need a little in your wallet to pay network fees.

Step by step: creating your wallet

Download Phantom from the official source. Type phantom.com into your browser yourself and use its download page, or search the Apple App Store or Google Play and check the developer is Phantom. Fake wallet apps and extensions, often pushed through search adverts, exist to steal recovery phrases.
Start a new wallet. In the browser extension, click Create a New Wallet, then Create a Recovery Phrase Wallet. On mobile, tap More Options, then Create Recovery Phrase.
Set a password (browser extension). Phantom asks for at least eight characters, including a capital letter, a number and a special character. The password only opens Phantom in that browser. It does not replace your recovery phrase. On mobile you can use Face ID or a fingerprint instead.
Write down your recovery phrase. Copy the 12 words in order onto paper and check them twice. Then click I saved my Recovery Phrase (extension) or tap OK, I Saved It (mobile) and confirm.
Choose a username and click Continue. Any extras offered after this, such as a referral code, are optional.

Phantom also lets you create a wallet by signing in with a Google or Apple account (Continue with Google or Continue with Apple, reached through Continue with Email in the extension). Phantom says both types are self-custodial (Phantom help centre). The trade-off is that the safety of your wallet then also depends on the safety of that Google or Apple account.

How should you store a recovery phrase?

Write it on paper (or stamp it in metal) and keep it somewhere safe and offline. Never photograph it, store it in cloud notes or email, or type it into any website. Phantom does not keep a copy, and it cannot change or replace the phrase if you lose it.

Warning: Phantom's help centre says its support team will never message you first or ask for your recovery phrase. Anyone who does is trying to steal from you.

See wallet safety for the habits that matter after setup.

How do you add SOL to Phantom from a UK exchange?

Buy SOL on an exchange, then withdraw it to your Phantom Solana address, choosing the Solana network. Always send a small test amount first.

In Phantom, click Receive and copy your Solana address. It is a long string of letters and numbers that does not start with "0x".
On the exchange, choose to withdraw SOL, pick the Solana network and paste your address.
Check the whole address, not just the first and last few characters.
Send a small amount first and wait until it shows in Phantom.
Once it arrives, send the rest. Leave a little SOL in the wallet for network fees.

Before you open an exchange account, check the firm on the FCA Register. UK exchanges must be registered with the FCA for anti-money laundering purposes, but registration is not a safety net. The FCA says crypto is largely unregulated in the UK and that you are highly unlikely to be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FCA).

Buying inside Phantom. Phantom also offers ways to buy inside the app, including its own Cash balance funded by card or bank. At the time of writing, its help centre describes card and bank funding for users in the US and EU, and we could not confirm which options are open to UK users. Fees vary by provider and payment method, so read the quote screen before you confirm.

Should you use a separate trading account?

Yes. Keep the account you connect to trading sites separate from where you hold anything you care about. Phantom lets you add accounts: click your profile avatar, then the plus icon labelled Add Account, and choose to create a new account (Phantom help centre).

Know the limit of this. Accounts added this way come from the same recovery phrase. They keep your trading activity and site connections apart, but if that phrase ever leaks, every account made from it is exposed. For savings, a completely separate wallet with its own recovery phrase, or a hardware wallet, is the stronger option.

What are hidden and spam tokens in Phantom?

Phantom automatically flags tokens that look misleading, unsafe or spam-like. A flagged token may show a warning, move to your hidden list or not appear at all. Verified tokens carry a purple tick, and unverified ones show a note telling you to only interact with tokens you trust.

If a token turns up in your wallet that you did not buy, leave it alone. Do not visit links in its name, and do not try to swap, sell or send it. Unhiding a token only makes it visible again. It does not mean it is safe (Phantom help centre).

What does Phantom's transaction preview show?

Before you approve a transaction, Phantom simulates it and shows a preview of what will happen, with warnings for known malicious sites and transactions. Phantom describes the preview as a help, not a guarantee.

If you expected to receive something and the preview shows SOL or tokens leaving, reject it.
A notice saying "This domain is new or has not been reviewed yet. Proceed with caution." means Phantom has not reviewed the site. Stop and check the address before going further.
Some drainer transactions are designed to look harmless in a preview. If you did not start an action yourself, do not sign it. See how to revoke token approvals on Solana for what these tricks look like.

Phantom or Solflare: which should you use?

Both are self-custody wallets with phone apps and browser extensions, and neither holds your keys. Phantom covers Solana plus several other networks. Solflare is built around Solana and supports more hardware wallet options. Choose by the features you need; your own habits matter far more than the brand.

	Phantom	Solflare
Custody	Self-custody	Self-custody
Apps	Mobile app and browser extension	Mobile app and browser extension
Networks	Solana plus Ethereum, Base, Polygon and others	Solana
Sign in with Google or Apple	Yes	Yes (called Quick Login)
Hardware wallets	Ledger	Ledger, Keystone and Solflare's own Shield card
Extra accounts or wallets	Add accounts from the same phrase, or import another	Add wallets, including a burner wallet option
Reviewing token approvals	Help centre points to an outside revoke tool	Built-in Spending Approvals screen

Solflare's details come from its help centre (Solflare help) and Phantom's from its help centre and developer documentation, at the time of writing.

Before you use your new wallet

A safe wallet does not make a coin safe. Before you swap into anything, paste its contract address into our rug check to see its warning signs graded A to F, then read how to buy a Solana memecoin for the full routine.

Not financial advice. This guide explains how things work. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything. Memecoins are extremely high risk and most go to zero.