Joseph Lubin’s cryptocurrency enterprise has undergone a recent personnel rearrangement, according to recent reports.

In the last two years, Consensys has reduced its workforce by 38% amid institutional turmoil, legal battles, and macroeconomic setbacks.

Further Restructuring Efforts

According to Tuesday’s Bloomberg report, the company behind the MetaMask wallet will reduce its workforce by 7%, or 49 people, in an effort to increase profitability. A spokesperson of the company confirmed that the move is a shift in priorities, following the firm’s acquisition of Web3Auth.

CryptoPotato covered the last restructuring by Consensys, which affected 20% of the workforce, or approximately 160 employees. The cited reason at the time was the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s “abuse of power.”

Before that, there was another reduction in staff numbers, affecting 11% of the employee count, or 96 people, due to uncertain market conditions.

It appears that the easing conditions and crypto-friendly regulations are insufficient to alleviate the need for reorganization within the business, or perhaps it’s a strategic move and preparation for further attainments.

Legal Troubles And Wins

The software firm has had its fair share of legal woes, dating back to late 2023, with the founder, Joseph Lubin, being sued by former employees for allegedly breaching equity agreements; the case remains active to date.

In early 2024, the company challenged the SEC in an attempt to prevent it from classifying ETH as a security, which was quickly resolved in favor of the broader cryptocurrency space. 

Later in the same year, roles switched, and the SEC went against the blockchain tech company, alleging that it offered unregistered securities through trading and staking via their wallet.

This case recently came to a close in February of this year, with both parties reaching an agreement and dismissing the proceedings.

Consensys is not the only company to have faced legal issues, with cases involving industry giants like Coinbase and Binance, both of which ended favorably for the exchanges.

It would also be worthwhile to note the closed investigations by the SEC involving players such as Robinhood, OpenSea, Kraken, and others, which can be broadly considered favorable to the crypto industry.

Ethereum co-founder and Consensys CEO Joe Lubin believes ETH could ultimately become more valuable than Bitcoin (BTC), citing its utility and role in building a trust-based financial infrastructure.

Lubin made the comments during an appearance on Rug Radio’s FOMO Hour podcast, where he also revealed that Consensys is in talks with sovereign wealth funds and major banks in a “very big” country to build infrastructure across the Ethereum ecosystem.

These talks reportedly center on building institutional infrastructure within the Ethereum ecosystem, including both layer-1 and customized layer-2 solutions.

Lubin framed Ethereum as uniquely positioned to anchor the next phase of the global financial system. He added that Ether’s utility, ranging from staking and restaking to smart contract execution, could give it an edge as institutions shift toward blockchain-based infrastructure.

Institutional Ethereum adoption

The remarks follow Consensys’ lead role in a $425 million private investment into publicly listed SharpLink Gaming last week.

The company, which markets online gaming products, will use the capital to establish an Ethereum-denominated treasury. Lubin now chairs the SharpLink board.

Unlike strategies centered on long-term Bitcoin accumulation, SharpLink’s treasury will actively deploy ETH through “staking, restaking, and DeFi at prudent risk levels,” according to Lubin.

The move is among the first of its kind and could signal a broader shift in how public companies and institutions approach Ethereum.

SharpLink’s stock jumped over 400% following the announcement and has risen more than 900% in the past month, despite recent volatility.

Most trusted, programmable asset

Despite recent underperformance compared to Bitcoin and newer challengers like Solana (SOL), Lubin portrayed Ethereum as the network focused on long-term infrastructure. The comments come amid a resurgence in ETH, which has begun to outperform the flagship crypto in recent weeks.

He characterized the protocol as methodically building the foundation for scalable, DeFi, even if it has lacked the loud narratives that drive short-term attention in crypto markets. With sovereign funds expressing interest in constructing financial infrastructure on Ethereum, the conversation is shifting.

If governments begin to integrate Ethereum into their technology stacks, or even hold ETH as a strategic asset, it could redefine the competitive landscape among digital currencies.

Lubin concluded with the view that Ethereum’s value lies not just in its price, but in its position as the world’s most trusted programmable asset. As trust, utility, and capital converge, the possibility of Ether surpassing Bitcoin in value no longer seems far-fetched.

Mentioned in this article

Consensys, the Ethereum infrastructure company behind the popular MetaMask wallet, said it has acquired Web3Auth, a provider of wallet infrastructure, in a move aimed at improving usability and developer accessibility across its platforms.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition is designed to modernize MetaMask’s onboarding experience and tackle one of the most persistent challenges facing self-custodial crypto wallets: seed phrase management. According to Consensys, internal data indicates that 35% of MetaMask users fail to back up their seed phrases — a key vulnerability that can result in permanent loss of funds.

Web3Auth’s technology, already integrated across some 8,200 decentralized applications, offers login and recovery tools that mirror Web2-style user flows. With this integration, MetaMask users will have the option to access wallets without relying solely on seed phrases, aligning with a broader industry push toward “account abstraction” — the idea that crypto wallets should offer the same ease of use and safety nets found in traditional apps.

“This integration enhances MetaMask’s capabilities significantly, embodying our belief that the best Web3 wallets will seamlessly integrate infrastructure that supports a wide range of empowering features,” said Joseph Lubin, chief executive of Consensys and a co-founder of Ethereum. “These include frictionless onboarding, customizable interfaces, extensive ecosystem connectivity reminiscent of a mycelium network, configurable security for varying needs, and maximal protections in high-security contexts.”

The acquisition also targets developers building within the MetaMask ecosystem. By incorporating Web3Auth’s embedded software development kits (SDKs), Consensys said it aims to simplify the developer experience and offer more flexible tools for integrating blockchain into consumer-facing applications.

“The future of using web3 is going to be full of embedded wallets that enable blockchain integrations to be nearly invisible, and minimize user interactions to the meaningful ones,” said Dan Finlay, the co-founder of MetaMask, in the press release. “Together, we think we can help build the best of both worlds: a decentralized web that is invisible as much as it can be, but can show up when a user is ready to tap into its power.”

Read more: Ethereum Upgrade Could Make It Harder to Lose All Your Crypto