ConsenSys Is Planning to Raise Funds at a Valuation of $3 Billion

ConsenSys is in talks to raise $250 million at a valuation of $3 billion, according to the latest reports. Arca and Golden Tree Asset Management are reportedly taking part in this round. In April this year, the company had raised $65 million in a “formation round” from traditional finance giants including JPMorgan, Mastercard, UBS, and leading companies from the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. According to PitchBook data, venture capitalists have invested $20.7 billion in cryptocurrency start-ups this year, an increase of more than 160% from the 2018 record. The US-based blockchain software technology company develops and invests in Ethereum-based projects. The company was founded by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin seven years ago, who made staff cuts for over 10% at least twice and then restructured it to split off its investment arm into a separate entity. ConsenSys is also the owner of the most active wallet in the crypto industry, MetaMask, which launched its institutional arm in December. The app charges a 0.875% fee on each trade and has generated $81.7 million in revenue in the past year, according to TokenTerminal. The company has projected annualized revenues from MetaMask to increase to $1 billion within the next year. MetaMask has more than 10 million monthly users as of August.