Consensys Software Inc. plans to separate its consumer and institutional businesses by the end of 2026, with the existing company rebranding as MetaMask and a newly formed Consensys taking over its Ethereum protocols and institutional blockchain infrastructure.

MetaMask, best known for its crypto wallet, will be led by Consensys co-founder Joe Lubin as chairman and CEO. The new Consensys will be led by CEO Mike Kriak and President David Cunningham, while Lubin will serve as executive chairman. (Disclosure: Consensys is one of several investors in Dastan, Decrypt’s parent company.)

Lubin told Decrypt that the two businesses have developed into major opportunities requiring separate leadership and focus.

“MetaMask has grown from a wallet into a much broader self-custodial financial platform, while on the institutional side we’re seeing financial institutions move from experimenting with blockchain to actually putting it into production,” Lubin said. “These are increasingly different businesses, with different customers, operating models and strategies. They’re both now large enough and mature enough to stand on their own, so giving each dedicated leadership and focus was the natural next step.”

The companies will operate independently, separating MetaMask’s consumer finance business from Consensys’ Ethereum protocols and institutional blockchain infrastructure. The split is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

“MetaMask will be entirely focused on the consumer opportunity, while Consensys will continue its work across Ethereum protocols and bring that expertise up the stack for institutions,” Lubin said. “The way I think about it is simple: two independent companies, each with the focus its market now demands.”

MetaMask said in an X post on September 9, 2026, that it was beginning its next chapter as an independent company. The post is available at https://x.com/MetaMask/status/2097689508187680794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw.

“Today, MetaMask begins its next chapter as an independent company. Consensys Software Inc., the company behind MetaMask, is rebranding as MetaMask, fully focused on the consumer platform. The protocols and institutional infrastructure businesses, including Linea, are becoming a…” — MetaMask 🦊 (@MetaMask) September 9, 2026

MetaMask has more than 100 million downloads across roughly 190 countries and has facilitated trillions of dollars in cumulative transaction volume, according to the company.

The wallet has expanded beyond storing and trading crypto. In June, MetaMask launched Money Account, a self-custody feature combining stablecoin yield, payments and trading in a single balance. MetaMask Senior Director of Product Johann Bornman told Decrypt at the time that the company was working toward a “neo-banking experience.”

MetaMask has also expanded beyond its Ethereum roots. It added Solana support and then added Bitcoin support in December, allowing users to manage BTC alongside assets on Ethereum and other supported networks.

That expansion followed the 2025 launch of MetaMask’s mUSD stablecoin on Ethereum and the second-layer blockchain network Linea. MetaMask planned to use the token for payments through its debit card.

The newly formed Consensys will continue developing Linea, its Ethereum layer-2 network, along with Besu, an Ethereum execution client used for permissioned blockchain networks, and Teku, an Ethereum consensus client. The company will focus on blockchain infrastructure for banks, asset managers, payment providers and other financial institutions.

Despite the restructuring, Lubin said the change would not affect how people use MetaMask.

“Nothing changes in how people use MetaMask today,” Lubin said. “What changes is that the full weight of the company now goes into the consumer platform.”

This story was updated after publication to include comments from Consensys co-founder Joe Lubin.