Morning Minute: MetaMask Parent Consensys Files for IPO

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analyzes and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s most important news:

• Crypto majors fall 2-3% after Powell says December rate cut not certain
• MetaMask parent Consensys files for IPO
• Mastercard acquires Zero Hash for up to $2 billion
• Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat becomes the top social app in Jamaica amid the hurricane
• MegaETH has raised over $1.25 billion in public ICOs (25x oversubscribed)

💼 Consensys files for IPO, right after MetaMask drops rewards

Ethereum‘s largest company goes to Wall Street.

But can it combine equality… and a token?

📌What happened

Consensys, the company behind it Metamaskis preparing for an initial public offering that will tap JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to lead the deal, according to Axios.

Consensys has been quietly positioning itself for the public markets all year, cutting costs, sharpening operations and expanding MetaMask beyond a simple Ethereum wallet into a complete financial platform.

Consensys was last valued at $7 billion in 2022 and has since built the most widely used self-custodial wallet in cryptocurrency.

MetaMask alone reportedly has 30-35 million monthly active users at cycle peaks, meaning Consensys is poised to position itself as crypto’s consumer super app for investors.

It is striking that this announcement comes a day after MetaMask has announced its new rewards program (an important step towards the launch of MASK tokens).

Yesterday, MetaMask launched “MetaMask Rewards,” a cashback-like program that allows users to earn returns and incentives by routing swaps, bridging, and staking through approved partners in the app.

🧠Why it matters

The timing was quite interesting with back-to-back announcements.

But probably because the two (IPO and ICO) go hand in hand.

Rewards programs drive volume and revenue, making these numbers look better for Wall Street.

But now Consensys will have to answer soon the The question hanging over every major crypto company: How do you balance a publicly traded company with a community-owned token?

Going public means:

• Shareholders will demand profits
• Users will demand a token
• Supervisors will demand clarity

Can Consensys walk the tightrope between stock value to Wall Street and token value to users?

It is certainly not an easy problem to solve.

Consensys stock will be driven by revenue and profits. So what will power the token?

If MetaMask buys back its token using revenue (like recent darlings Hyperliquid and Pump.fun), does that take revenue away from shareholders?

If they don’t use revenue, what exactly is the MASK token? A governance token?

We know how they have fared over the past three to four years (not good).

They face an uphill battle, to say the least. But if anyone can make it happen, it’s Joe Lubin and his team.

And if they do, they will set the blueprint for every other major crypto company considering an IPO besides a token drop…

Disclosure: Consensys is one of 22 investors in editorially independent Decrypt.

🌎 Macrocrypto and memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my attention:

• Crypto majors are in the red after shaky guidance from the FOMC and a successful Trump Xi meeting; BTC -3% at $110,100, ETH -3% at $3,900, BNB +1% at $1,120, SOL -2% at $192
• ZEC (+9%) and AERO (+7%) were the leaders
• The Federal Reserve Board cut rates by 25 basis points and said QT would end on December 1, although Powell called a December rate cut far from guaranteed
• The probability of one more rate cut in 2025 fell from 84% to 67% after Powell’s comments
• OpenAI shared plans for a $1 trillion IPO as soon as the second half of 2026
• Michael Saylor still targeting $150,000 BTC by year end, citing declining volatility and improving market structure
• MasterCard plans to acquire blockchain startup Zero Hash for up to $2 billion per fortune
• Consensys (MetaMask) is preparing an IPO and hiring JPMorgan and Goldman as leads
• Ethereum announced a new website with ecosystem data and sector overviews aimed at institutions
• Senators Warren and Sanders dismissed Trump administration moves on crypto in 401(k)s and warned of investor risks
• Bitchat by Jack Dorsey ranked first on the Jamaican Social Networking App Store amid Hurricane Melissa

In corporate bonds/ETFs

In Memes

• Memecoin Leaders are usually red; DOGE -3%, Shiba -2%, PEPE -2%, PENGU -3%, BONK -2%, TRUMP +3%, SPX -7% and FARTCOIN -2%
• TRUMP became one of the top performers of the week across the crypto sector, up 45% over the week
• RECT rose 25% to $250 million and led the meme movers that day
• KitKat was one of the biggest daily gainers on Solana, up 72x to $6 million; jelly jelly rose 46% to $132 million

💰 Token, airdrop and protocol tracker

Here’s an overview of the top token, protocol and airdrop news of the day:

🚚 What’s happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines of the day in NFTs:

• NFT Leaders were flat or green that day; Punks even at 39 ETH, Pudgy even at 6.95, BAYC +6% at 6.9 ETH; Hypurr’s -7% on 1,100 HYPE
• Mocaverse (+49%) and v1 Punks (+10%) were notable movers
• The NFT strategies were again predominantly red, with a decrease of 2-7%; PNKSTR for $60 million