At Phantom, we believe in showcasing the incredible people who help drive our success. As we continue to build and shape the future of crypto, we want to highlight the experiences of women on our team who are making an impact. In this edition, we’re sharing the story of Laamia Islam, employee number 12 at Phantom and a key leader on our Engineering team.
The power of crypto: Ownership, finance, and innovation
For Laamia Islam, Engineering Manager at Phantom, crypto is about redefining how people interact with technology, data, and ownership in a world dominated by centralized institutions. Traditional financial and data systems create unnecessary barriers through their slow, inefficient, and exclusionary practices.
What drew Laamia to crypto is decentralization, or “removing the middleman,” as she phrased it.
“I want to live in a society where I don’t have to wait on the bank to approve my mortgage so I can buy a house. I want to live in a society where I truly own my data.”
During her career in healthcare, Laamia witnessed the many layers that exist between her and data about her health. She wants to live in a society where she can truly own that, sharing that “crypto and the blockchain is the platform that can make it happen.”
Laamia was drawn to Phantom because of its focus on usability and accessibility in crypto. Unlike other platforms that catered primarily to crypto-native users, Phantom was building for a broader audience—one that included people new to self-custody and decentralized finance (DeFi). The opportunity to help bridge that gap and make crypto more intuitive was exactly the kind of challenge she wanted to take on.
Making crypto more accessible with Explore
Crypto has come a long way from being built by developers, for developers. It’s no longer just a space for early adopters and technical experts—it’s evolving into something that millions of people should be able to engage with. But for that to happen, the experience needs to be seamless, intuitive, and welcoming.
“We’re no longer in this built-by-developers, for-developers mindset. We want to bring the masses to crypto, and what better way to do that than with an intuitive user experience in a wallet?”
That mindset is what led to Explore—a feature designed to cut through the noise and make crypto easier to navigate. The crypto space is fragmented, with conversations happening across Twitter, Telegram, and Discord, making it hard to stay informed. Explore brings all that information into one place, helping users discover trending tokens, NFT collections, and apps without the endless scrolling and searching.
“We shipped this feature a year ago, and we’ve continued to iterate and enhance the experience. We’ve added layers of educational content, trending lists, and recommended apps to help users explore crypto in a safe and fun way.”
For Laamia, this is a critical shift in how Phantom serves its users. Crypto shouldn’t feel like an exclusive club for insiders. It should be intuitive, approachable, and safe for anyone curious about self-custody, DeFi, NFTs, and more.
By focusing on usability and accessibility, Phantom is reshaping how people engage with crypto. And for Laamia, that’s exactly the kind of impact she set out to make.
A culture of collaboration and curiosity
For many companies, being fully remote comes with challenges. But at Phantom, it’s one of our biggest strengths. Our culture isn’t just collaborative—it’s intentionally designed to make teamwork seamless, open and transparent.
“People always talk about the cons of being a remote company. I think there are a lot of pros when it comes to collaboration. Everything is documented. There’s no side conversation you’ve missed or decision made in a vacuum—if something happens, the outcome is shared somewhere, whether in Slack, Notion, or another space where the whole team can engage.”
This documentation-first approach solves a problem that often plagues engineering cultures—knowledge getting siloed. At Phantom, no one is left guessing how something was built or why a decision was made. Instead, teams work together with full visibility, ensuring ideas, discussions, and solutions are accessible to everyone.
That openness extends beyond documentation. “The lines between teams are strategically blurred. There's nothing that's stopping me from jumping over to another team or to the leader of a certain feature and asking, ‘hey, how did you do this?’”
This allows engineers to dive into different parts of the product, collaborate across functions, and bring fresh ideas to life. Phantom engineers aren’t confined by rigid ownership structures. Instead, they move fast, take initiative, and drive impact wherever they see an opportunity.
“We’ve hired high performers. People who are deeply passionate about what we build. If they have an idea, great—find a team and go build it at a hackathon. If they see a bug outside their feature area, no problem—go fix it. Our structure encourages people to be proactive, to contribute beyond their immediate responsibilities.”
At Phantom, the engineers who thrive share a common mindset—curiosity and drive.
“Crypto isn’t figured out yet. The engineers who succeed here are the ones who dive deep, who don’t just push a question aside but have the grit to chase down an answer, understand how something works, and apply that knowledge. That’s the culture we’ve built, and that’s the culture we want to continue building.”
Hackathons and innovation
One of the most exciting parts of Phantom’s culture is its hackathons—they’re some of the most exciting and creative moments of the year. “Our hackathons are literally the coolest hackathons I’ve ever seen. Some of our brightest ideas emerge when a group of builders from different parts of the company come together around an idea they’re passionate about.”
These hackathons unite people from across the company—engineers, designers, product managers, and more—to collaborate on ideas beyond their typical responsibilities. The resulting ideas are often wild, ambitious, and experimental, which is exactly what makes them so powerful. These events push the boundaries of what's possible.
But Phantom's approach stands out because these projects don't remain confined to the hackathon.
“We make it a point to integrate our most promising hackathon ideas into our product. Oftentimes hackathons produce proof-of-concepts that are never actualized. We assess which ideas would be valuable for our users and get them production ready.”
This bottom-up culture is core to how Phantom operates. It’s not just leadership setting the roadmap—individual contributors have a direct impact on the features that make it into the wallet. If something resonates with the team and the community, Phantom finds a way to bring it to life.
For engineers and builders who thrive on exploration, experimentation, and impact, Phantom’s hackathons are more than just competitions—they’re an opportunity to shape the future in real, tangible ways.
Parenthood and flexibility at Phantom
Becoming a parent while at Phantom has given Laamia a fresh perspective on flexibility and career growth. "I started here working one way, and after having my baby, everything changed. The beauty of Phantom is that I didn't have to choose between being a present parent and an engaged team member."
This flexibility is woven into Phantom's core work culture. "With team members across multiple time zones, we share an understanding that work happens when it best fits your life. No one expects constant availability, which creates a culture of trust and autonomy."
For Laamia, what stands out is how flexibility isn't merely a stated value—it's fundamental to Phantom's operations. "I can structure my day to be present for my child while still delivering high-quality work. Sometimes that means stepping away for a doctor’s appointment mid-afternoon and catching up later in the evening. Given our fully-remote culture, everyone is highly understanding of you grinding during the hours that work best for you.
Phantom creates an environment where parents truly belong. "Our parents channel is very active and offers a sense of community.”
This approach extends beyond parents to ensure every employee can blend work and life sustainably. At Phantom we also believe in ensuring diverse perspectives shape the future of crypto itself.
A space to learn and build
For Laamia, crypto isn't just about decentralization—it's an open invitation to be part of something transformative.
“I truly believe that crypto is going to be the next internet. It already is. And I want to be part of that conversation. People of all backgrounds should try to be part of that conversation. Otherwise, we’ll end up with tools built by others that aren’t designed for us.”
Crypto is still in its early days. Unlike traditional industries with rigid hierarchies and gatekeepers, this space is still being shaped. That means there’s a unique opportunity to help define how it grows and who it serves. ”If we don’t have women, or people from different backgrounds, coming in and creating use cases for themselves, then 50% of the population will be left out of this movement.”
At Phantom, inclusion isn’t just a goal—it’s built in to the way the company operates. The culture is collaborative, open, and focused on learning, ensuring that no one has to navigate the space alone. “This isn't something that has been figured out yet. We're constantly learning. We're constantly evolving. That’s the culture we’ve built at Phantom. We value curiosity.”
Building the future—together
For Laamia, Phantom is more than just a workplace—it's a space to build, experiment, and grow alongside driven, like-minded people. Whether shaping the future of decentralized finance, crafting seamless user experiences, or pushing crypto's boundaries, Phantom transforms great ideas into reality.
At its core, Phantom thrives on collaboration, curiosity, and initiative. Engineers take ownership here and push their ideas to the limit. Hackathon ideas don't just earn praise—they’re shipped to users. It's an environment where big ideas flourish and team members at every level help make crypto more accessible, intuitive, and impactful.
"Crypto isn't figured out yet. We're all learning, experimenting, and evolving together. That's the beauty of it. And that's the culture we want to keep building."
For those seeking to be part of something transformative—where learning never stops, boundaries are pushed, and meaningful impact happens daily—Phantom is your destination.
