MetaMask Developer Consensys Lays Off 20% of Workforce

Consensys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin announced the layoffs on Tuesday in a blog post, citing macroeconomic conditions and regulatory uncertainty.

> "To stay competitive, we need to reshape ourselves to be more agile, more effective, and even higher-performing," Lubin stated in a post on X. "Today, we are making the tough but prudent decision to streamline our operations to position Consensys for ongoing rapid innovation, long-term sustainability under possibly volatile scenarios, and continued leadership in the web3 space."

While MetaMask is one of the most popular crypto wallets, Consensys is embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In September, a U.S. district judge dismissed Consensys’ lawsuit against the SEC concerning the classification of ether as a security. The SEC has also sued Consensys for not registering as a broker through its MetaMask swaps service.

Laid-off employees will receive generous severance packages and an extended stock options window, according to the blog post.

Last Year's Lawsuit

Lubin's announcement of layoffs comes a year after former employees sued him for not fulfilling equity promises made during the startup phase. The lawsuit argues that many employees worked for lower salaries with the understanding they would receive equity.

A Consensys spokesperson responded to the lawsuit by saying, "After two years of getting nowhere with their frivolous claims against Consensys Mesh in a Swiss court, plaintiffs now believe their meritless claims stand a better chance of yielding a payday if they game U.S. courts and entangle Consensys Software and other unrelated parties in litigation. We fully expect that the plaintiffs, who were never employees of Consensys Software, will soon find this gambit is another fruitless attempt to enrich themselves from the success of others."

As of last year, Consensys was valued at over $7 billion after raising more than $700 million according to the lawsuit.