ConsenSys Eyes Further Layoffs Amid Crypto Bear Market

ConsenSys, a Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Read this Term software technology company founded by Joseph Lubin, is eyeing even further layoffs, a report from The Verge published on Thursday has revealed, citing unnamed sources at the company.

Towards the beginning of December, Finance Magnates reported that the company had laid off over 100 of its employees – roughly 10 percent of the Brooklyn-headquartered firm’s workforce. And now, it seems, that ConsenSys is gearing up for even more culling.

According to sources at the company, ConsenSys is spinning out startups which it previously supported, to streamline its business into “ConsenSys 2.0” which the company’s founder, crypto billionaire Joe Lubin announced earlier this month.

ConsenSys Labs, an internal incubator run by ConsenSys, houses a number of startups, referred to as “spokes.” According to an email sent by Shawn Cheng, a partner at Labs, it incubates around 36 spokes.

ConsenSys might lay off up to 60 percent of workforce

A source familiar with the spokes told The Verge that the teams at these so-called spokes range from 5 to as many as 50 employees. The source also speculates that the total number of employees that will be laid off could be as much as 50 to 60 percent of ConsenSys' workforce, which consists of around 1,200 employees.

A spokesperson for the company did not deny the allegations about the layoffs when contacted for comment. Instead, they told The Verge that they were speaking with every spoke and project to: “determine a path forward, whether that will be internally as a part of ConsenSys 2.0, or as an external entity.”

Many of the people working at these spokes are ConsenSys employees, and the majority of the companies have not yet created a revenue-viable product. According to one source, the mood at the company is bleak.

“The office is empty, people are only finding out who’s getting fired because you try to send Slack messages and they’re not there. ConsenSys won’t create a list [of the projects that are being spun out] or send out anything in writing because they’re afraid of everything going to the press,” they said.

The crypto bear market claims another victim

ConsenSys is the latest cryptocurrency-linked firm said to have run into financial trouble as cryptocurrency prices struggle to recover from a steep decline throughout 2018. This drop has also hurt the fortune of Lubin, who is credited as the Co-founder of Ethereum Ethereum Ethereum is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Created in 2014, Ethereum now stands as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap at the time of writing.As a decentralized cryptocurrency network and software platform, Ethereum represents the most prominent altcoin. Ethereum also enables the creation Distributed Applications, or dapps. Understanding EthereumEthereum boasts its own programming language, called Turing Complete, which is used to build the dapps. Dapps run on a peer-to-peer (P2P0 network of virtual machines. These can be just about anything and are optimized to run on Smart Contracts. Smart Contracts are pieces of code that execute a predetermined set of actions once a certain set of criteria are met. The Ethereum network’s native currency is called Ether, or ETH. ETH tokens can be used to pay for things inside of dapps or to receive payouts from smart contracts. They can also be traded off of the Ethereum network inside of cryptocurrency exchanges or OTC trading platforms. For most of its lifetime, Ethereum has remained as the second-largest and most popular cryptocurrency in terms of its market cap. It was briefly outpaced by Bitcoin Cash near the end of 2017.Ethereum’s origin dates back to late 2013 when crypto researcher and programmer Vitalik Buterin proposed its utility.Its development was subsequently funded by an online crowdsale that took place in the middle of 2014 before going live in July 2015. At its inception, Ethereum went live with 72 million coins minted, accounting for approximately 65 percent of its total circulating supply as of May 2020.Like other cryptos, Ethereum has had a checkered past, resulting in splits. Back in 2016, an exploited vulnerability in The DAO project's smart contract software caused the theft of $50 million worth of ether.As a result, Ethereum was split into two separate blockchains – a newer and separate version became known as Ethereum (ETH), while the original chain continued to be known as Ethereum Classic (ETC). Ethereum is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Created in 2014, Ethereum now stands as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap at the time of writing.As a decentralized cryptocurrency network and software platform, Ethereum represents the most prominent altcoin. Ethereum also enables the creation Distributed Applications, or dapps. Understanding EthereumEthereum boasts its own programming language, called Turing Complete, which is used to build the dapps. Dapps run on a peer-to-peer (P2P0 network of virtual machines. These can be just about anything and are optimized to run on Smart Contracts. Smart Contracts are pieces of code that execute a predetermined set of actions once a certain set of criteria are met. The Ethereum network’s native currency is called Ether, or ETH. ETH tokens can be used to pay for things inside of dapps or to receive payouts from smart contracts. They can also be traded off of the Ethereum network inside of cryptocurrency exchanges or OTC trading platforms. For most of its lifetime, Ethereum has remained as the second-largest and most popular cryptocurrency in terms of its market cap. It was briefly outpaced by Bitcoin Cash near the end of 2017.Ethereum’s origin dates back to late 2013 when crypto researcher and programmer Vitalik Buterin proposed its utility.Its development was subsequently funded by an online crowdsale that took place in the middle of 2014 before going live in July 2015. At its inception, Ethereum went live with 72 million coins minted, accounting for approximately 65 percent of its total circulating supply as of May 2020.Like other cryptos, Ethereum has had a checkered past, resulting in splits. Back in 2016, an exploited vulnerability in The DAO project's smart contract software caused the theft of $50 million worth of ether.As a result, Ethereum was split into two separate blockchains – a newer and separate version became known as Ethereum (ETH), while the original chain continued to be known as Ethereum Classic (ETC). Read this Term.

Lubin’s fortune was funding the startup, however, according to Forbes estimates, Lubin, who is one of the wealthiest men in the crypto space, has seen his fortune drop to less than $1 billion from $5 billion in early 2018. This was due to Ethereum’s drop in price, with the cryptocurrency’s value falling by around 93 percent from January.

As a result, Lubin has been open about looking for external funding for his company, with two sources stating that the company is actively looking for investment: “They’re using the 13 percent announcement I would imagine to give comfort to potential investors about the small-scale downsizing,” one source says.