Author: KarenZ, Foresight News
Ten years ago, MetaMask was the little fox in your browser responsible for connecting to dApps and popping up signature requests.
At that time, on-chain wallets were not as crowded as they are today. With browser extensions and a first-mover advantage, MetaMask quickly became the primary default gateway to Ethereum and DeFi.
But in recent years, the wallet market has transformed significantly. Rather than merely holding onto its role as an entry point, MetaMask has gradually integrated products such as stablecoins, yield accounts, payment cards, perpetual contracts, prediction markets, and tokenized stocks into a single self-custody ecosystem.
Now, the company structure must also change.
On September 9, 2026, Consensys Software Inc. announced its restructuring into two independently operated companies: the original company will be renamed MetaMask and focus on consumer-facing products, while the protocol team and institutional infrastructure business will be transferred to a newly formed company that will continue to use the Consensys name. Both companies have begun operating independently, and the spin-off is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
MetaMask becomes a company, not just a product
After the restructuring, the original Consensys Software Inc. will continue operating under the name MetaMask, responsible for the MetaMask platform and other consumer-facing products. Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin (original founder and CEO of Consensys) will serve as Chairman and CEO of MetaMask.
The new Consensys will take over the protocol and institutional infrastructure business. Mike Kriak, CEO of Consensys Mesh, will serve as CEO of the new company, David Cunningham, former head of Consensys’s global institutional business, will serve as president, and Joe Lubin will serve as executive chairman.
The directions of the two companies thus diverged:
MetaMask is designed for individual users, focusing on lowering the barrier to entry for on-chain finance and transforming the wallet from a transaction tool into a gateway for everyday financial management. Features such as Money Account, MetaMask Card, the stablecoin mUSD, and trading and investment functionalities all belong to this consumer-oriented pathway.
Consensys is now targeting banks, asset managers, payment institutions, and other enterprises, with a focus on Ethereum and enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure. Businesses such as Linea, Besu, and Teku will remain within this ecosystem to support tokenized assets, stablecoins, programmable settlement, and enterprise blockchain networks.
Lubin told Fortune that the value of MetaMask’s consumer business is growing faster than any other business at ConsenSys. The company stated that the consumer and institutional segments have different growth trajectories and require separate management teams, investment strategies, and areas of development.
MetaMask: From a blockchain wallet to an "open monetary platform"
MetaMask was launched in 2016 and initially focused on functions such as key management, transaction signing, and connecting to Ethereum applications. The core problem it first addressed was very simple: how to make it easier for ordinary people to access Ethereum?
In its tenth-anniversary article, MetaMask recalled that the project’s code repository was created in 2015, and the first official version launched in July 2016. Since then, MetaMask has navigated market cycles including ICOs, DeFi, and NFTs, gradually becoming one of the most widely used wallet entry points in the Ethereum ecosystem.
According to data released by MetaMask, its cumulative downloads have exceeded 100 million, reaching approximately 190 countries and regions, with the platform facilitating cumulative transaction volumes in the trillions of dollars.
But simply holding onto Ethereum is increasingly insufficient to meet the growth needs of a wallet company, especially as competitors begin to enter MetaMask’s core market and the share of exchange wallets continues to rise.
MetaMask is also expanding beyond Ethereum. In 2025, MetaMask natively integrated with the Solana network, followed by official Bitcoin support in December.
But multi-chain expansion is just one step. A more noticeable change for MetaMask is that it is now bringing more and more financial operations that previously required leaving the wallet directly into the wallet itself.
Currently, MetaMask's products cover scenarios such as token swapping, perpetual contracts, prediction markets, payments, and tokenized real-world assets.
In September 2025, MetaMask launched the stablecoin mUSD. mUSD is 1:1 backed by U.S. dollars and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, held in regulated custodial institutions, and issued through Bridge, a company under Stripe.
In February 2026, MetaMask partnered with Ondo Finance to integrate Ondo Global Markets into the wallet, enabling access to tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs, and commodities.
In the same month, the MetaMask Card was officially launched. It is a debit card directly linked to the MetaMask wallet, offered in partnership between MetaMask, Mastercard, and Baanx, allowing users to spend their crypto assets directly at merchants that accept Mastercard.
MetaMask's product logic has also changed. Previously, the wallet was responsible for directing users to various financial applications; now, MetaMask aims to integrate more and more financial application features directly into the wallet.
If perpetual contracts, prediction markets, RWA, and payment cards can be understood as continuously adding new features to your wallet, then the MetaMask Money Account, launched in June this year, attempts to reorganize how users structure their funds within the wallet.
Money Account is a self-custodial account built on Monad. After users deposit funds, supported assets are converted into MetaMask’s own USD stablecoin, mUSD, which then generates yield through on-chain DeFi strategies.
According to MetaMask's official documentation, the infrastructure for Money Account is provided by Veda, Steakhouse Financial, and others, with funds generating yields through DeFi markets. The standard product description at launch stated a variable APY of up to approximately 4%.
For example, after a user deposits $1,000 in assets into their Money Account, they can use the remaining balance to purchase tokens, perpetual contracts, prediction markets, tokenized stocks, ETFs, and commodities; transfer funds to other wallets; or, if eligible based on regional and product requirements, spend directly via the MetaMask Card. Any unused balance continues to participate in yield strategies.
In other words, users' on-chain funds were often fragmented: money in a wallet needed to be deposited into a DeFi protocol to earn yield, yet had to be withdrawn, exchanged, or transferred to another platform to be spent.
The Money Account aims to consolidate this process into a single account: earn returns when funds are idle, and instantly trade, transfer, or spend when needed.
This is also a significant step for MetaMask toward becoming a complete financial platform. Aligning with its “Open Money” vision, MetaMask aims to enable users to hold, transfer, grow, and use their assets all within the same platform.
IPO or token issuance remains uncertain
The company's independence also easily raises two other questions: an IPO or a MetaMask token. At least for now, neither of these questions has a clear answer.
Fortune magazine reported that Consensys had previously considered going public, but Lubin did not provide a new IPO timeline.
The same applies to tokens. Lubin has previously signaled interest in a MetaMask token, but according to this report by Fortune, Lubin said the current business and regulatory environment has reduced the number of companies hoping to issue their own cryptocurrency.
Additionally, this restructuring will not change the app, assets, keys, or access methods for existing MetaMask users; users do not need to migrate their wallets, re-import seed phrases, or transfer tokens. MetaMask’s SDK, API, and developer tools will continue to function as usual.
Summary
MetaMask is no longer content with merely serving as an entry point to the on-chain world; it aims to keep more financial activities within its own platform.
This is the real test that the “Open Money” story will now face: as wallets themselves become increasingly difficult to sustain as long-term barriers, can MetaMask evolve from being merely the gateway to Web3 into a user’s long-term self-custodied financial account?