Consensys announced plans on Sept. 9 to separate MetaMask, its consumer wallet, from the Ethereum infrastructure business, giving the two entities distinct management and investment priorities.
The separation creates two independent companies. Joe Lubin will serve as chairman and CEO of MetaMask, while Mike Kriak becomes CEO of the new Consensys, which retains Linea, Besu, and Teku infrastructure products. Consensys Software Inc. will continue operating MetaMask under the new structure.
The split reflects diverging economic models between consumer wallet services and protocol-layer infrastructure. MetaMask generates revenue through a 0.875% fee on swaps, separate from network fees. The new Consensys company will focus on infrastructure including Linea, which allocates 20% of gas fees after Ethereum Layer 1 costs to ETH burning.
MetaMask Money Account and Monad
MetaMask Money Account, introduced in June 2025, converts deposits into mUSD stablecoin and operates on Monad as its home network rather than Ethereum Mainnet. The service uses Veda as an infrastructure provider and Steakhouse as vault curator. This architecture sits outside Ethereum’s main chain, creating a separate economic layer within the MetaMask ecosystem.
Besu and Private Networks
Besu, the software for public and private networks, remains part of the new Consensys infrastructure business. Private Besu networks use proof-of-authority consensus and operate with separate chain identifiers, distinct from Ethereum Mainnet transactions. These networks serve enterprise and institutional use cases separate from the consumer wallet business.
Linea Tokenomics and ETH Burning
Linea, Consensys’s Ethereum Layer 2, uses ETH as its gas token and designates 20% of gas fees for ETH burning after covering Layer 1 costs. This mechanism ties Linea’s fee structure directly to Ethereum’s monetary policy, creating demand for ETH independent of MetaMask’s consumer activities.
User Experience Unchanged
Consensys stated that the separation requires no action from users and does not change the MetaMask app, assets, private keys, or access. The corporate restructuring operates as an internal reorganization rather than a technical migration.
The separation is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Consensys did not disclose financial terms or valuation details of the split.
