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Consensys Splits as MetaMask Becomes Independent Consumer Finance Company
Existing entity will become MetaMask while a new Consensys takes Ethereum and institutional infrastructure
TL;DR
- Consensys Software Inc. is separating MetaMask from its Ethereum protocol and institutional infrastructure operations.
- The existing company will become MetaMask under Joe Lubin, while Mike Kriak will lead the newly formed Consensys.
- MetaMask will focus on self-custodial consumer finance, while Consensys will house Linea, Besu, Teku and institutional blockchain infrastructure.
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Consensys Software Inc. announced on September 9, 2026, that it will split into two independently operated companies, with the existing entity rebranding as MetaMask and a newly formed Consensys taking over its Ethereum protocols and institutional blockchain infrastructure. The separation is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, creating one company focused on self-custodial consumer finance and another centered on Ethereum infrastructure and institutional blockchain adoption.
Joe Lubin, Consensys co-founder, will serve as chairman and CEO of MetaMask. Mike Kriak will become CEO of the newly formed Consensys, David Cunningham will serve as President, and Lubin will remain involved there as executive chairman. The structure means MetaMask is not being spun into a newly created company; Consensys Software Inc. itself will take the MetaMask name, while a separate company assumes the Consensys identity and infrastructure operations.
MetaMask said the restructuring will give its consumer platform a dedicated corporate focus as it expands beyond its origins as a crypto wallet. Lubin said, “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.”
Lubin also tied his direct leadership of MetaMask to that broader consumer-finance strategy. “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,” he said.
MetaMask has more than 100 million downloads across roughly 190 countries and has facilitated trillions of dollars in cumulative transaction volume, according to the company. Its stated focus as an independent business will be self-custodial consumer finance spanning payments, savings and investing rather than operating solely as a wallet provider.
MetaMask has already expanded into payments, savings and trading
MetaMask's product expansion was underway before the corporate restructuring. The company launched a U.S. Mastercard payment card on February 26, with rewards paid in its mUSD stablecoin, extending the wallet into payment activity. MetaMask later introduced its Money Account on June 30, allowing customers to use a single self-custodial balance across savings, spending and market activity.
Money Account allows users to earn up to 4% APY on mUSD while using the same balance for purchases through MetaMask Card as well as trading, perpetual futures and prediction markets. Around the product's launch, MetaMask Senior Director of Product Johann Bornman said the company was working toward a “neo-banking experience,” a description consistent with MetaMask's push toward a broader consumer financial platform.
MetaMask has also expanded beyond an Ethereum-only wallet. It added Solana support before adding Bitcoin support in December, enabling users to manage BTC alongside Ethereum assets and assets on other supported networks. The company's mUSD stablecoin was launched in 2025 on Ethereum and Linea and was also planned for use through MetaMask's debit-card product.
MetaMask publicly characterized the restructuring as a new stage in that strategy, saying, “Today, MetaMask begins its next chapter as an independent company.” It said Consensys Software Inc. was rebranding as MetaMask and becoming “fully focused on the consumer platform,” while protocol and institutional infrastructure operations, including Linea, would move to the newly formed Consensys.
New Consensys will target institutional Ethereum infrastructure
The other company will take over CSI's Protocols Group and focus on Ethereum and institutional blockchain infrastructure. Its portfolio will include Linea, the Ethereum Layer 2 network, as well as Besu and Teku, keeping protocol-oriented and enterprise technologies together under the Consensys name.
Besu is an Ethereum execution client used for permissioned blockchain networks, while Teku provides Ethereum consensus-client infrastructure. Linea is being positioned to attract institutional capital, aligning the Layer 2 network with the new company's focus on banks, asset managers, payment providers and other financial institutions.
Citi, DTC and BNY Mellon use Consensys' Besu infrastructure, providing an existing institutional base for the business. Consensys said demand for tokenization, stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure is growing as financial firms move from pilot programs toward production deployments.
David Cunningham, President of the new Consensys, said, “Financial institutions and market infrastructure are moving to always-on operations with tokenization at the core.” He added, “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.”
Lubin placed the separation within the broader history of the organization and its work on Ethereum. “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,” he said.
Lubin said the two businesses will remain oriented toward the same broader ecosystem even as they operate independently. “Going forward, the two companies will keep building the same ecosystem, just with the focus each market now demands,” he said.
MetaMask token and IPO remain unresolved in the restructuring
Lubin had said in 2025 that a MetaMask MASK token was coming and tied the planned token to the wallet's decentralization strategy. The company remained “mum” on both a possible IPO and a MetaMask token alongside the restructuring announcement, leaving the previously discussed token plan without a new timetable or structure attached to the separation.
The transaction is structured as a corporate separation rather than a sale or acquisition. MetaMask will retain the consumer-facing business and its expanding payments, savings and investment products, while Consensys will concentrate Linea, Besu, Teku and the institutional Ethereum infrastructure operation under a separate management team.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
