ConsenSys Blockchain Firm Says Valuation Doubled to Over $7 Billion After New Funding From Microsoft, SoftBank

Blockchain technology firm ConsenSys said on Tuesday its valuation had more than doubled to over $7 billion (roughly Rs. 53,421 crore) after its latest funding round that included investments from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Microsoft.

ConsenSys, founded by Joseph Lubin, is an Ethereum blockchain firm whose products help developers, enterprises, and users build applications geared towards the so-called "Web3" space. Ethereum price in India as of 3:13pm on March 16 stood at Rs. 2.11 lakh.

"Web3" is used to describe a potential next phase of the internet: a decentralised web run on the record-keeping technology blockchain.

The company, which raised $450 million (roughly Rs. 3,434 crore) in the latest round, said it would use the funds to expand its MetaMask offering with a redesign, expected to release later this year. MetaMask is a crypto wallet used to buy, sell, and swap tokens.

Investors in the new round led by ParaFi Capital also included Singapore's Temasek, Anthos Capital, Sound Ventures, and C Ventures.

ConsenSys said it intends to convert all funds from the round to Ether (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, to rebalance the ratio of ETH to US dollar-equivalents in line with the company's treasury strategy. Lubin has contributed heavily to the development of the cryptocurrency.

ConsenSys, which was valued at $3.2 billion (roughly Rs. 24,421 crore) in its last funding round in November, joins a growing list of crypto companies whose valuations have jumped in recent months driven by the explosion of interest in "Web3" and with the launch of marketplaces for non-fungible tokens (NFT).

Earlier this year, "Web3" developer platform Alchemy nearly tripled its valuation to $10.2 billion (roughly Rs. 77,837 crore) after a funding round led by Lightspeed and Silver Lake.

© Thomson Reuters 2022