Unlimit founder backs Phase blockchain with $45M as mainnet launches

Phase is entering the market as a new blockchain network with a live mainnet, and the launch is tied to backing from Unlimit founder Kirill Eves. That places the project in the familiar pattern of a new chain arriving with a funding announcement, rather than as a standalone technical release. The focus on smartphone-based participation matters because it lowers the hardware threshold for joining the network compared with setups that require specialized equipment.

For users, the practical change is that a phone can now be part of transaction validation and other network activity tied to AI agents. That shifts participation toward consumer devices and away from more specialized infrastructure. Builders working around Phase will need to account for a network that is being presented as mobile-first and AI-linked from day one.

Phase sits at the intersection of two trends: attempts to widen access to blockchain participation and the use of crypto networks to support AI-related workloads. The appeal is obvious, but the model also places more emphasis on how the network is organized and who funds it at launch. When a project opens with a large commitment from one founder, questions around influence and control naturally sit alongside the technical pitch.

Still open is how Phase will handle governance, participation rules, and the real scale of phone-based validation once the network is operating. The launch details do not show how widely users will adopt the system or how the token incentives will play out over time. Those questions will become clearer from the project’s rules, user uptake, and on-chain activity after mainnet launch.

The move was larger before the first headline than after. That is an observation, not an explanation: the market also moves on things nobody publishes.