The developer of the Metamask wallet, Consensys, recently laid off about 20% of its employees. Combined with previous reports of high-level departures from its Layer 2 public chain Linea, there are concerns about Consensys's future development. Founder and CEO Joseph Rubin admitted that the layoffs were primarily due to unfavorable macroeconomic factors and the prolonged legal expenses resulting from the company's struggles with regulatory agencies, which necessitated a decision to reduce expenses.
(The airdrop group has been countered! The core team of Linea has been leaving one after another, causing community concerns about not launching tokens.)
The future of Consensys is uncertain as it incubates Little Fox and Linea.
Consensys was founded by Joseph Rubin in 2014 in Brooklyn, and is best known for the widely used Metamask wallet. Recently, it has gained attention for Layer 2 Linea, which has yet to issue tokens, along with other well-known products like Wallet Guard.
In a previous article, we pointed out that the core team of Linea, including the founders and BD, left in mid-June this year. Although the founder stated that it was merely a difference in opinions about the direction with the Consensys team and a peaceful separation, the community still felt worried.
Consensys is embroiled in legal turmoil and may be laying off employees to reduce expenses.
However, Joseph Rubin recently admitted on Twitter that Consensys plans to lay off 20% of its employees. He attributed this to the macroeconomic uncertainties and regulatory challenges over the past year, stating that these factors have had a significant impact on American companies. He framed this round of layoffs as a necessary step for Consensys's long-term sustainable development and path towards decentralization, indicating that the organization needs to restructure to enhance its competitiveness.
In fact, the regulatory uncertainties mentioned by Joseph Rubin refer specifically to the legal turmoil between Consensys and the SEC, and currently, Consensys seems to still be in a disadvantageous position.
(US court rejects Consensys's claim against the SEC, agreeing with the SEC's reasons for the lawsuit.)
The Bitcoin market remains hot, and dYdX has chosen to lay off 35%.
Coincidentally, just as Bitcoin approaches its historical high, the decentralized derivatives trading platform dYdX also announced a 35% layoff. Although the article used various rhetorical devices to describe this decision as very difficult, dYdX did not mention specific reasons for the layoffs. It only indicated that there was a conflict between dYdX's development and roadmap, and this choice was made to have a clearer vision and greater enthusiasm moving forward to create something amazing.
This article discusses how Bitcoin is nearing a new high while the industry is experiencing a wave of layoffs and transformations: Consensys and dYdX are both laying off 20-35% of their employees, originally appearing in Chain News ABMedia.
