ConsenSys, the blockchain software company behind the MetaMask wallet, is planning to go public and has selected JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs as lead underwriters for its initial public offering, Axios reported on Wednesday. The listing would be one of the most significant public debuts ever by a company building Ethereum’s infrastructure. The second largest blockchain in the world.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the company told CoinDesk that it has “nothing to announce at this time” but that it continues to evaluate development options. “The company is constantly looking for opportunities to grow 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 most famous product, MetaMask, acts as a digital wallet that is used by millions of people to store crypto, manage tokens, and connect to decentralized applications directly from the browser.
ConsenSys also backs Sharplink, an Ethereum treasury management firm, which on Tuesday announced plans to deploy $200 million of its holdings in onchain yield strategies. The funds will be allocated on Linea, a Layer 2 network created by ConsenSys that aims to make Ethereum transactions faster and cheaper.
If ConsenSys goes public, it would join several other crypto-native companies that have listed on US exchanges this year after years of cautious investor sentiment and unclear regulation, including stablecoin issuer Circle K (CRCL), crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI) and crypto platform Bullish (BLSH).
UPDATE (Oct 29, 9:42 UTC): Adds statement from ConsenSys.