Blockchain start-up ConsenSys has raised $450 million in a new round of funding that more than doubles its valuation to $7 billion in a funding round backed by Microsoft.
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According to CNBC report, the cash injection was led by ParaFi Capital, ConsenSys said Tuesday, with Microsoft, Japan’s SoftBank and Singapore’s Temasek also joining as new investors in the company.
New York-headquartered ConsenSys was founded in 2014 by Joseph Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum. Ethereum is the blockchain platform behind ether, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency.
Whereas bitcoin is mostly used for transactions, Ethereum can be used to create decentralized applications, or dapps — think Facebook or TikTok, but on the blockchain, a shared record-keeping system for crypto transactions. ConsenSys develops software that runs on the Ethereum network.
It marks a rare crypto-related bet from Microsoft. The company previously led an early-stage investment in Palm NFT Studio, a start-up also co-founded by Lubin.
Microsoft’s involvement highlights growing interest from the world’s largest tech firms in Web3, a loosely-defined term that refers to efforts to create a decentralized version of the internet based on blockchain technology.
It’s a term that has attracted a lot of chatter — and money — in Silicon Valley. Blockchain start-ups raised a record $25 billion in venture capital funding globally last year, according to CB Insights data. Other tech giants exploring Web3 include Facebook-parent Meta and Twitter.
ConsenSys is viewed by investors as one of the companies that will power Web3. It’s benefited from a flood of investment into emerging crypto trends such as decentralized finance, or DeFi, and nonfungible tokens, otherwise known as NFTs.
The company’s most popular products include the MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet and Infura, a suite of tools that helps developers create Ethereum apps.
MetaMask allows people to store and manage their tokens through a web browser extension or a mobile app. People can also access popular blockchain-powered apps like Uniswap and Axie Infinity. The bulk of ConsenSys’ revenues currently comes from fees for trading different tokens on MetaMask.
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Tony Chimdiuto 
Tony Chimdiuto