Abstract
In this letter we show that, at its fundamental level, phantom dark energy is a fluid made up of time crystals that permeate the fabric of space-time. In turn, any well-behaved stable theory of a non-canonical scalar field that acts as phantom dark energy also leads to the production of time crystals. This relation offers a new way of thinking and a deeper insight into the nature of the most inexplicable of all ingredients in the universe, dark energy.