Largest Bank U.S JPMorgan to Merge Its Blockchain Unit With Ethereum’s ConsenSys

United States multinational investment bank, JPMorgan Chase, is seeking to merge its blockchain unit, Quorum with ConsenSys, an Ethereum-focused software technology company, per a report by Reuters today.

Built on the Ethereum network, JPMorgan Chase Quorum is an open-source blockchain platform, with a global team of 25 people. ConsenSys merger with Quorum is said to correspond to their effort to expand its software division.

For around two years, the bank has been seeking to spin-off Quorum, establish a new startup, or merge it with other companies, according to the people familiar with the matter. 

ConsenSys was the ideal path forward for Quorum since both entities work with Ethereum and have previously been involved in joint initiatives. Consensys was founded by one of the co-founders of Ethereum, Joe Lubin, and recently laid off 14% of its employees, following a business restructuring.

As per the people familiar with this move, it’s not clear whether Quorum workers will join ConsenSys after the merger; however, one of the people noted that the development wouldn’t affect JPMorgan’s projects on Quorum, especially the Interbank Information Network (IIN). 

Blockchain has grown beyond mere software to track digital currency transactions, as large corporations like IBM and banks already see significant results with their investment in the technology.

The IIN run by JPMorgan on its Blockchain unit is a payments network that constitutes more than 300 banks. The U.S. largest bank by assets will reportedly issue a digital currency called JPM Coin using the Quorum.

On December 10, 2019, Executive Director at JPMorgan, Daizaburo Sanai, revealed that over 80 banks in Japan declared interest to join their Blockchain network for instant payment services, while also avoiding criminal acts like money laundering in the country. 

As Coinfomania reported, then, this was the highest number of interest JPMorgan’s Blockchain network has recorded from a particular country.