Phantom wallet faced a major setback recently, with users experiencing nearly three hours of downtime during the rush to claim GRASS tokens. The issue started just six minutes after the GRASS token airdrop claim went live, causing frustration among users who were unable to access their balances or perform transactions.
According to reports, the outage was due to a significant incident with the wallet’s backend, rendering the service unresponsive from 1:36 P.M. UTC to 4:20 P.M. UTC. This isn’t the first time Phantom services have experienced downtime, as there was an 8-minute shutdown earlier this month on Oct. 3.
After resolving the issue, Phantom assured users that they would continue to monitor the situation closely and take necessary steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. In 2024 alone, Phantom has reported a total of 12 major backend incidents, with 7 occurring on Feb. 1, resulting in almost one and a half hours of downtime.
Despite the wallet’s troubles, the Solana network remained fully operational during the outage, showcasing its reliability and uptime. This was a relief for users who may have been concerned about the overall stability of the network.
The GRASS token, which users were eager to claim during the airdrop, saw some price fluctuations following the launch. It initially dropped by 28% to $0.65 but has since recovered by 9%, currently priced at $0.71 according to CoinGecko data.
The GRASS tokens are native to the Solana-based Grass network, which aims to reward users for lending their unused internet bandwidth. These tokens are utilized to incentivize users and support the network’s infrastructure for training artificial intelligence models.
Overall, the Phantom wallet outage served as a reminder of the importance of network reliability and the need for continuous monitoring and improvement to prevent future disruptions. As the demand for cryptocurrency and blockchain services continues to grow, ensuring seamless user experiences and robust infrastructure will be crucial for the long-term success of these platforms.
