{"id":54618,"date":"2023-07-17T10:20:23","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T14:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/?p=54618"},"modified":"2023-07-17T10:20:26","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T14:20:26","slug":"consensys-rejects-funding-talk-amid-share-discounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/consensys-rejects-funding-talk-amid-share-discounts\/","title":{"rendered":"ConsenSys Rejects Funding Talk Amid Share Discounts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>ConsenSys has dismissed rumors that it is seeking new capital, insisting it has plenty of cash and is not engaged in any formal fundraising effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ConsenSys.webp\" alt=\"ConsenSys Rejects Funding Talk Amid Share Discounts\" class=\"wp-image-54620\" width=\"704\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ConsenSys.webp 1024w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ConsenSys-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ConsenSys-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ConsenSys-750x422.webp 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/consensys-launches-linea-zkevm-rollup-network-on-mainnet-alpha.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">ConsenSys<\/a>, a leading Ethereum software company, was rumored to be fundraising after holding talks with investors over the summer about a potential capital injection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The talks came after a period in which the shares of numerous highly valued, privately held crypto startups \u2014 ConsenSys among them \u2014 have traded at significant discounts on secondary market platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two of the people familiar with ConsenSys's recent funding discussions said that any resulting raise would be a <a href=\"https:\/\/carta.com\/blog\/how-to-handle-a-down-round\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">&#8220;down round,&#8221;<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><g id=\"wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\" fill=\"none\" clip-path=\"url(#clip0_31_188)\">\r\n                            <path d=\"M9.16724 14.8891L20.1672 3.88908\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M13.4497 3.53554L20.5208 3.53554L20.5208 10.6066\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M17.5 13.5L17.5 16.26C17.5 17.4179 17.5 17.9968 17.2675 18.4359C17.0799 18.7902 16.7902 19.0799 16.4359 19.2675C15.9968 19.5 15.4179 19.5 14.26 19.5L7.74 19.5C6.58213 19.5 6.0032 19.5 5.56414 19.2675C5.20983 19.0799 4.92007 18.7902 4.73247 18.4359C4.5 17.9968 4.5 17.4179 4.5 16.26L4.5 9.74C4.5 8.58213 4.5 8.0032 4.73247 7.56414C4.92007 7.20983 5.20982 6.92007 5.56414 6.73247C6.0032 6.5 6.58213 6.5 7.74 6.5L11 6.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                        <\/g>\r\n                        <defs>\r\n                            <clipPath id=\"clip0_31_188\">\r\n                                <rect fill=\"white\" height=\"24\" width=\"24\"\/>\r\n                            <\/clipPath>\r\n                        <\/defs><\/svg><\/span><\/a> valuing the firm at less than <strong>$7 billion. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ConsenSys last raised capital in early 2022 in a <strong>$450 million<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/parafi-capital-leads-a-450m-series-d-funding-round-for-consensys.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Series D round<\/a> led by ParaFi Capital that valued the startup at <strong>$7 billion.<\/strong> Deep-pocketed backers like <strong>SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Temasek, and Microsoft <\/strong>also participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-consensys-position-on-the-rumors\">ConsenSys' Position on the Rumors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>ConsenSys has brushed off these talks, stating that while the startup occasionally considers <em><a href=\"https:\/\/enterslice.com\/learning\/key-differences-between-inbound-and-outbound-investment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">&#8220;inbound investor interest,&#8221;<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><use href=\"#wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/em> it still holds plenty of cash and is not actively engaged in a formal process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A ConsenSys spokesperson also said that many people in the crypto industry perceived the company as the winner after the debacles of 2022, when several crypto projects collapsed amid regulatory crackdowns and market volatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Consensys has been widely perceived as the winner after the debacles of 2022,&#8221;. &#8220;Consequently, the company has experienced a significant influx of inbound investor interest, fueled in part by inaccurate reporting on the secondary market activity in our stock earlier this year,&#8221; <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that the company doesn't need money and is &#8220;not actively engaged in a formal process.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When questioned about these omissions, the spokesperson clarified that secondary markets account for <strong>&#8220;a tiny fraction&#8221;<\/strong> of transactions in ConsenSys stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Consensys is highly capitalized and has demonstrated strong performance across all areas year to date,&#8221; the company spokesperson said. &#8220;Therefore, our existing shareholders have no intention of accepting any dilution on terms inferior to our Series D. Any claims suggesting engagement with the company regarding discussions of a down round would be providing you with inaccurate information and may be an attempt to negotiate via the press on their part.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The spokesperson also said that ConsenSys has been using its capital to hoover up its shares from secondary market platforms, where they have been trading at significant discounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;The company has ample cash, believes nearly all of the proposed secondary transactions we have been given notice of this year significantly undervalued the company and have been exercising our right of first refusal on them, accordingly,&#8221; <\/p>\n<cite>ConsenSys Spokesman<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>ConsenSys' stance indicates that the company is confident in its financial position and growth prospects, despite the challenges facing the crypto industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By buying back its own shares, ConsenSys is signaling that it believes its stock is undervalued and expects its valuation to rise in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ConsenSys' position also reflects its commitment to building software for the Ethereum ecosystem and supporting its innovation and adoption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By converting its proceeds from the round to ETH, ConsenSys demonstrates its support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2022\/03\/04\/1046636\/ethereum-blockchain-proof-of-stake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Ethereum's upcoming transition to Proof-of-Stake,<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><use href=\"#wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a> which will make the network more secure and scalable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ConsenSys has dismissed rumors that it is seeking new capital, insisting it has plenty of cash and is not engaged in any formal fundraising effort. ConsenSys, a leading Ethereum software company, was rumored to be fundraising after holding talks with investors over the summer about a potential capital injection. The talks came after a period [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":54620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[7806,128,1659],"class_list":["post-54618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-consensys-2","tag-ethereum","tag-funding"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ConsenSys.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}