Blockchain studio ConsenSys closed a $65m round of funding this week. While the funding is sizable, the investors are the real prize.
Leading the round are banking heavyweights UBS and JPMorgan Chase. The latter previously sold its enterprise blockchain tech Quorum to ConsenSys in a deal last August — now, they own a lil’ bit of ConsenSys. AKA the full-circle back scratch is complete.
Not to be outshined by its banking big bros…
… Mastercard is getting in on the action, too
MC ponied up cash in the funding round and inked a partnership deal with ConsenSys to develop enterprise blockchain applications.
The funding and partnership announcement comes on the heels of a general legitimization of blockchain technology among investment circles — *cough* Coinbase IPO *cough*.
The wrinkle is ConsenSys dabbles in Ethereum
AKA ETH, the No. 2 cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin.
Founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, ConsenSys’ work has centered around 2 Ethereum-based blockchain technologies: NFTs and DeFi, or decentralized finance.
Notably, ConsenSys is the team behind MetaMask, a popular browser extension for interacting with NFTs and Ethereum wallets. If you were dropping dimes on CryptoPunks last month, you probably used it.
