UPDATED 21:56 EDT / APRIL 13 2021

BLOCKCHAIN

Blockchain software technology startup ConsenSys raises $65M

Blockchain software technology startup ConsenSys Software Inc. today announced it has raised $65 million in new funding to accelerate the convergence of decentralized finance and Web3 applications on Ethereum with enterprise blockchain infrastructure.

The round included funding from J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, UBS, Protocol Labs, the Maker Foundation, Fenbushi, The LAO, Alameda Research, CMT Digital, Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund, SNZ Holding, NGC Ventures, Quotidian Ventures and Liberty City Ventures.

ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin told Bloomberg that the round came in the form of an unpriced convertible note, meaning there’s not yet a public valuation for the company.

Founded in 2014 in Switzerland, ConsenSys originally focused on Ethereum blockchain implementation such as through a deal with Microsoft Corp. in 2015 to develop an Ethereum blockchain as a service for Azure. That model went reasonably well for a time, but the company subsequently struggled, laying off 13% of its employees in February 2018 amid a report that the company’s headcount would be cut a further 50% and 60% later the same year.

Leaner and more streamlined, ConsenSys shifted some of its focus onto DeFi, a form of blockchain-based finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries and instead uses smart contracts, most commonly Ethereum.

Since then, it has apparently thrived. DeFi is rapidly growing: A report in February noted that it had already grown 143% just this year, with $37.69 billion in total locked value.

In June, ConsenSys launch a compliance service that helps exchanges and decentralized finance projects analyze trading activities of tokens issued on the Ethereum blockchain. Called Codefi Compliance, the service scans blockchains for regulatory compliance including anti-money-laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and “know your customer” guidelines and legal requirements.

Other products offered by ConsenSys include DiligenceInfuraMetaMaskTruffle and Quorum, providing a product suite designed to support both public and private permissioned blockchain networks. MetaMask alone is said to have more than 3 million monthly active users and 150,000 developers using Infura application programming interfaces.

“Enterprise Ethereum is a key infrastructure on which we and our partners are building payment and nonpayment applications to power the future of commerce,” Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of Digital Asset and Blockchain Products and Partnerships at Mastercard, said in a statement. “Our investment and partnership with ConsenSys helps us bring secure and performant Enterprise Ethereum capabilities to our customers, whom we believe will benefit from a robust, open-source Ethereum community to create relevant and scalable solutions.

Image: Consensys

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