Consensys, the blockchain development venture run by Joe Lubin, said on Monday that it is acquiring Web3Auth to strengthen its crypto wallet offering, MetaMask.
Web3Auth, based in Singapore, lets users access their cryptocurrency wallets using the same credentials as signing in to Google, Facebook, Discord, and other popular social accounts.
Setting up a crypto wallet typically requires writing down a “seed phrase” of 12 to 24 words. If a user loses that phrase, they will be unable to access their funds.
Seed phrase
With 250 million users, MetaMask, is a top provider of non-custodial crypto wallets.
Attracting newbies is always a challenge. Consensys expects the latest acquisition to attract rookies intimidated by managing their seed phrase to download a crypto wallet.
“This is definitely about getting more people in,” Dan Finlay, a co-founder of MetaMask, told DL News. “It’s also about preventing people from falling out in devastating ways.”
Finlay added, “This is an answer to the fact that some people are just not ready to learn what it means to back up a private key in a fully self-custodial way, and that’s all right.”
The acquisition will see the 30-person Web3Auth team join MetaMask. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MetaMask makeover
The acquisition is part of a larger overhaul of the eight-year-old Ethereum wallet.
In February, Finlay announced several key new changes, including the ability for users to hold Solana and Bitcoin, a redesigned mobile app, and a new metal Mastercard exclusive to MetaMask users.
“We’re in a period where we’re accelerating our ability to adapt,” Finlay said. “We’re starting to really pour on the gas.”
Competition among wallet providers is fierce, with many building a business over the last few years around MetaMask’s shortcomings.
Phantom, which launched in 2021 as a Solana-specific crypto wallet before adding Ethereum and Polygon two years later, has 15 million users and has become the wallet of choice for Solana.
“It took a long time for wallets to really start innovating in ways that were worth copying,” Finlay said. “At a certain point, it’s time to eat some humble pie and get better in that dimension, too.”
$150 million round
Phantom also attracted leading investor groups. In January, the venture raised $150 million in a round co-led by Sequoia Capital and Paradigm.
Consolidation in the crypto industry is on pace to hit its highest level since the 2021 bull market, according to analysts at Pitchbook.
Through the first five months of 2025, there have been 97 different crypto deals by the market’s biggest players worth roughly $5 billion.
Crypto exchange Coinbase splashed out $2.9 billion in a cash and stock deal to buy the options exchange Deribit in May.
Ripple, the company that created the XRP token, acquired the London-based prime brokerage firm Hidden Road in April for $1.25 billion.
Consensys has also been busy on the deals front.
In May, the company helped finance a $425 million investment in SharpLink gaming, enabling the listed sports and online casino marketing company to add Ethereum to its balance sheet.
“It’s a time of a lot of invigorating enthusiasm to take on things in fresh ways,” said Finlay.
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin-based DeFi correspondent. Have a tip? Get in touch at [email protected].
