Consensys Splits Into Two Companies for Consumer and Institutional Business

Consensys is splitting its MetaMask-centric consumer business and Ethereum protocol/institutional infrastructure business, including Linea, into two separate companies. The separation is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.

In a formal announcement on September 9, Consensys stated it plans to operate its existing Consensys software as two independent companies. The existing company will transition to a consumer-focused financial enterprise centered around MetaMask, while the protocol group and institutional infrastructure business will move to a newly established entity named 'Consensys'.

The restructuring plan aligns with previous reports from this publication. The new Consensys will include Linea, Ethereum execution client Besu, and consensus client Teku. Consensys stated it will focus on providing infrastructure for tokenization, stablecoins, and programmable payments to banks, asset managers, payment companies, and market infrastructure firms.

Under this reorganization, MetaMask will concentrate on its consumer platform while the new Consensys handles institutional blockchain infrastructure and Ethereum-related software. Linea is a zkEVM-based Layer 2 network compatible with Ethereum, designed to allow smart contracts and development tools from Ethereum mainnet to be used without modification. It launched on July 11, 2023.

Linea has strengthened its economic ties with Ethereum. In a July 2025 announcement, it revealed that 20% of protocol pure fees would be burned in ETH and 85% of the LINEA token supply would be allocated to the ecosystem, with the remaining 15% assigned to Consensys finance under a five-year lockup.

Regarding institutional funding, Sharpling Gaming ($SBET) announced plans in October 2025 to allocate $200 million (approximately 268.6 billion KRW) of Ethereum to Linea. The funds will be linked to staking and restaking structures through Ether.fi and EigenCloud, with Anchor Digital Bank as the custodian. SEC filings revealed that a contract signed in December 2025 requires maintaining at least $200 million in ETH and weETH on Linea for two years, which was met by June 30, 2026.

The restructuring aims to position Linea not just as an Ethereum scaling network but within the institutional Ethereum infrastructure business. However, the announcement did not specify the scale or pace of increased institutional adoption. The Reddit Ethereum community noted that separating MetaMask and institutional infrastructure would allow greater focus on Linea and Ethereum protocol businesses. Some speculation about legal structure and fundraising purposes emerged from community discussions, though these are not part of the official announcement.