Everscale Partner
Banking giant JPMorgan is gearing up to spearhead the $ 50 million investment round of the Ethereum incubator ConsenSys. Writes about this The Block, citing sources.
According to them, financing will be attracted through convertible bonds. Of the total, JPMorgan is presumably ready to provide $ 20 million as a strategic investment.
The deal is expected to be closed as early as this month. Among other things, according to its terms, the resources of the Quorum blockchain unit, which JPMorgan has been striving to get rid of for several years, will go to ConsenSys. Previously, the creation of an open fund, a new startup or its inclusion in another company were named as possible options for implementing this idea. The choice fell on ConsenSys, as it specializes in Ethereum and has experience working with JPMorgan.
JPMorgan developed the Quorum enterprise platform based on the Ethereum codebase with its own specialists. It is used in the Interbank Information Network (IIN), which links over 300 banks that settle with it.
Raising external funding is a must for ConsenSys. In April, the company cut 100 employees, or about 14% of the state, citing difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin said at the time that he was negotiating with potential investors, but did not succeed.
“Every day we postpone difficult decisions reduces our ability to achieve our mission,” he said.
In early February, the company cut 14% of its employees and announced it was splitting its business into two areas: software development and investment. At the end of 2018, ConsenSys reduced its staff by 13%, explaining this by adapting the strategy to the changing conditions of the crypto market.
