Articles by Helene Braun

Technology

Consensys Plans Public Debut, Taps JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to Lead IPO: Axios

Consensys, the blockchain software company behind the MetaMask wallet, plans to go public and has chosen JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs as lead underwriters for its initial public offering, Axios reported Wednesday. The listing would mark one of the most significant public debuts yet by a firm building the infrastructure of Ethereum ETH$4,027.87, the world’s second-largest blockchain. When asked for a comment, a spokesperson for the company told CoinDesk that it had "nothing to announce at this time" but that it continuously evaluates options for growth. "The company is constantly exploring opportunities to expand its impact," the spokesperson said. Founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, Consensys develops tools that allow users and developers to interact with Ethereum applications. Its best-known product, MetaMask, serves as a digital wallet used by millions to store crypto, manage tokens, and connect to decentralized applications directly from a browser. Consensys also backs SharpLink, an Ethereum treasury management firm that on Tuesday announced plans to deploy $200 million of its holdings into onchain yield strategies. The funds will be allocated on Linea, a Layer 2 network incubated by Consensys that aims to make Ethereum transactions faster and cheaper. If Consensys goes public, it would join a number of other crypto-native companies who have listed on U.S. exchanges this year after years of cautious investor sentiment and unclear regulation, including stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL), crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI) and crypto platform Bullish (BLSH). UPDATE (Oct 29, 9:42 UTC): Adds statement from Consensys.