Ethereum Giant ConsenSys Tightens Belt, Will Axe Underperforming Projects
Ethereum development studio ConsenSys, the New York-based blockchain startup, is restructuring as part of a move to streamline its business amid the crypto bear market. ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin, the co-founder of Ethereum, made the announcement in a company letter.
“We must retain, and in some cases regain, the lean and gritty startup mindset that made us who we are,” Lubin wrote in the letter, as reported by Breaker . “We now find ourselves occupying a very competitive universe…We must recognize that what got us here will probably not get us there, wherever ‘there’ is.”
Under the reorganization into a new phase called ConsenSys 2.0, Lubin said the sprawling Brooklyn-based startup will eliminate underperforming projects and place a renewed emphasis on creating tangible value.
While no staff layoffs are planned right now, Lubin said he wouldn’t rule it out in the future.
The company is also figuring out how to make work-related travel cheaper and more efficient in order to cut down on costs.
‘We Need a Streamlined Rocket Ship’
“In ConsenSys 1.0, we built a laboratory instrumented to prove the moon existed, using complex engineering and math and creative philosophical arguments,” Lubin told employees in his letter. “Now, we need a streamlined rocket ship to get us there, since the actual proof, ultimately, is in the landing.”
The reorganization means projects will now be judged on three metrics:
- Revenue, or return on investment.
- Benefit to the Ethereum ecosystem.
- Social good.
Joseph Lubin is still bullish about the cryptocurrency industry and about ConsenSys itself but said the company must adjust to a more competitive, crowded market.
“It’s focusing, it’s adding rigor, it’s adding accountability, and it’s opening ConsenSys up more to the world,” he explained.
Since February 2018, the company doubled its workforce to more than 1,100 people, while expanding into 29 countries. Lubin — whose crypto net worth reportedly hovers between $1 billion to $5 billion — personally financed the expansion himself, but admits ConsenSys has become a bit unwieldy after its rapid growth.
Crypto is ‘Natural Evolution’ Of Money
As CCN.com reported, Lubin said cryptocurrency is the “natural evolution” of money, so despite the current market slump, bitcoin and blockchain aren’t going anywhere.
Moreover, he believes that Ethereum is just a few years away from “profound decentralization” that’s going to fuel a cataclysmic shift in society from a “scarcity to an abundance mindset.” So fasten your seat belts.
Check out CCN.com’s exclusive interview with Joseph Lubin here.
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