Consensys Software Inc. announced plans to separate into two independently operated companies, MetaMask and Consensys, dividing its consumer financial platform from its protocols and institutional blockchain infrastructure businesses. The separation is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Under the plan, Consensys Software Inc. will remain the existing corporate entity and rebrand as MetaMask. MetaMask will operate the company’s consumer-facing platform and products, with Joe Lubin serving as Chairman and CEO.
The company’s Protocols Group and institutional blockchain infrastructure business will be transferred into a newly formed company carrying the Consensys name. That business will be led by Mike Kriak as CEO and David Cunningham as President, with Lubin serving as Executive Chairman.
The separation is intended to give the two businesses dedicated leadership, operating models, and investment strategies as consumer self-custody and institutional blockchain infrastructure develop into increasingly distinct markets.
MetaMask will remain Ethereum-first while operating across multiple blockchain ecosystems, providing access to digital assets and blockchain networks while expanding into traditional financial products.
The platform has grown to more than 100 million downloads across approximately 190 countries and has facilitated trillions of dollars in cumulative transaction volume.
MetaMask is also expanding beyond its origins as a self-custodial wallet into a broader financial platform designed to give consumers a single place to hold, spend, save, trade, and grow their money.
Its recently launched Money Account combines automated earning, instant spending, and one-click trading within a self-custodial account, representing an early part of the company’s expansion into everyday financial services.
The newly created Consensys will focus on the institutional side of blockchain infrastructure. It will continue developing and supporting technologies including Ethereum, Linea, Besu, and Teku, while expanding its work with banks, asset managers, payment providers, and other financial institutions adopting tokenization, stablecoins, and programmable settlement.
The restructuring comes as institutional adoption moves from blockchain experimentation toward production deployments. Consensys plans to build infrastructure enabling financial institutions and market participants to operate across increasingly always-on and tokenized financial markets.
The two companies will operate independently while continuing to develop technologies within the broader Ethereum and blockchain ecosystem.
KEY QUOTES:
“For over a decade, the Consensys teams and products that ultimately became Consensys Software Inc. helped build the foundations of the Ethereum ecosystem, from the protocol itself to the tools and infrastructure that made self-custodial finance and sovereign networks possible. MetaMask grew out of that work into the world’s most widely used self-custodial wallet, and today it’s becoming something larger: a platform where people don’t just hold their assets, but manage their money in its many diverse forms and aspects. Stepping into this role full-time is a recognition that consumer finance deserves the same focus and ambition that we’ve brought to building Ethereum itself.
The new Consensys will continue to be a protocols company. David, Mike and the new Consensys team that we have brought over will do the same for institutions as the newly created entity brings its Ethereum, Hyperledger Besu and Linea protocol development experience and expertise ‘up the stack’ to enable financial institutions and diverse enterprises to collaborate more effectively in an increasingly always-on, onchain world. Going forward, the two companies will keep building the same ecosystem, just with the focus each market now demands.”
Joe Lubin, Chairman and CEO of MetaMask and Executive Chairman of Consensys
“Financial institutions and market infrastructure are moving to always-on operations with tokenization at the core. Consensys Software Inc. has built the open-source technology that is the foundation of this transition. We are now delivering the interoperability infrastructure that the world’s largest financial marketplaces need to coordinate this transformation with the required privacy, resilience and scale.”
David Cunningham, President of Consensys
