ConsenSys may be a seemingly incomprehensible company. Unlike EOS's block.one, which focuses on VC, ConsenSys focuses on building an Ethereum network. More than 50 projects hatched by it have high popularity and reputation. ConsenSys has established a large number of corporate relationships and soft power that can be used now, trying to let the wider world know what decentralization is.
What is ConsenSys?
Most people know that ConsenSys is the business incubator of key projects of Ethereum. The company adopts the "central radiation" mode to view more than 50 projects currently in ConsenSys. This "net" consists of DApps (such as Airswap and Gnosis) and infrastructure projects (such as MetaMask and Infura).
The benefits of this model to the project team are obvious, because it allows the team to visit other developers and provide them with autonomy. As founder Joseph Rubin said, ConsenSys is "building a decentralized ecosystem, which requires a lot of communication and collaboration between different projects." The project can not only benefit from the developer's knowledge, but also get different degrees of financial support. ConsenSys was originally a venture capital studio, aiming to incubate MVPs around the company and then use them for external investment. An early example is BlockApps. The projects in "mesh" will acquire the equity of all other ConsenSys projects, which can provide advantages even if their own projects fail. Mesh is very important, but now it is only a part of ConsenSys. Its business scope has been expanded to include:
College: "The Educational Core of the Ethereum Movement"
Capital: venture capital and token sales consulting.
Catalyst: a full-service marketing and brand promotion organization
Design: product designer, design thinking promoter, design researcher and strategist.
Diligence: Intelligent Contract Audit and Ethereum Security
Laboratory: Incubate the project and provide funds, guidance and visits for the project (this is where the mesh project is located).
Social impact: projects with social impact.
Solution: Enterprise Ethereum and Blockchain Innovation Partnership
In short, ConsenSys has done a lot. In two years, the number of employees has increased from 80 to more than 1000, and this growth shows little sign of abating. This growth makes it difficult for employees to take charge of different departments of the company, so the company often reorganizes employees. Moreover, it is difficult for even ConsenSys company to find a participant in such a thing. Although many company websites try their best to show their extensive activities to the audience, ConsenSys has expanded too fast, and the content displayed on the website only accounts for a small part of the company's operation.
Not just for the money.
It is puzzling why ConsenSys took such an active part in Civil (investing US$ 5 million in the seed round of the project and then donating US$ 165438+ 10,000 to the failed Aisio). Therefore, ConsenSys, led by Lubin, may have greater ambitions, not just for profit. Although there are financial motives, the company has rapidly developed into the most closely connected and influential company in the whole ecosystem. Just as funding Civil can be interpreted as increasing the influence of the media, ConsenSys is also regarded as a leader in shaping and influencing the blockchain. ConsenSys is incubating dozens of interesting projects, some of which are crucial to the success of Ethereum, but it also helps to cultivate how other industries and governments view blockchain.
The following figure summarizes some of these relationships.
As mentioned above, ConsenSys is more representative than any institution and any other company in the industry. It has many partners and joint ventures. It has a close relationship with government organizations. This painting is far from finished; There are more places that have not been shown.
These connections can be divided into two categories:
1. Industry contact
2. Soft power
1, industry contact
ConsenSys serves many leading industry participants through its enterprise-centered solutions department. In addition, it is a leading member of several industry-focused committees (usually as a member of the board of directors) and more encryption industry committees such as the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA). Since the establishment of the European Economic Area, ConsenSys personnel have been playing a leading role in it, including the co-founder of * * * and the heads of two of the eight original working groups.
Through the mesh project, the company has also established several joint ventures with leading financial services and technology companies. The company also directly signed joint ventures, including Komgo SA and Ethereum blockchain as services, and a joint venture with Microsoft. Many employees of ConsenSys, including many of the most senior employees, come from the financial services industry background, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and other representatives. These types of employees also bring their own connections with these companies. Jack lu himself comes from the background of financial services. The way he participates in Ethereum, coupled with his friendly attitude to promote Ethereum industry, will also have a great impact on ConsenSys attracting large companies. ConsenSys's importance to Ethereum goes beyond providing infrastructure tools. It also increases the opportunity for companies to adopt Ethereum, because competitors lack such organizations and good institutions. As Lu Bin said when he founded the European Economic Area, "Enterprises represent the enjoyment of ideas, and they represent resources". 2. Soft power
The company's influence is reflected in its close ties with global and national non-profit organizations. These can be divided into three categories:
1. government and non-governmental organizations
2. Encryption Association
3. Education
1, government and non-governmental organizations
The most obvious way of influence comes from the close relationship with government agencies. The Council cooperates with many government agencies, including Council of Europe, South African Reserve Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. It also cooperates with institutions in India, the United States and the Middle East. It also has a social impact and grant program, which enables it to cooperate with non-governmental organizations in developing countries and fund projects of educational institutions. More than 1 000 employees are distributed on six continents. Although the Dublin office only added 12 employees in June, the company is already looking for new office space because they want to increase the number of employees to more than 100. The government loves technical talents, especially those in new fields; They usually offer high salaries to form new technology clusters. This alone can provide influence.
Secondly, ConsenSys founded the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, which operates Ethereal Summit and the newly launched TruffleCon. ConsenSys is a member of Cryptography Valley and Global Digital Finance. In addition, ConsenSys has established a regulatory framework with Bitcoin Base, Coin Center and Union Square Venture Capital Company. Most importantly, it is closely intertwined with Ethereum, which may be due to Lubin's early participation and subsequent work in network development by ConsenSys.
3. Right to education
The Council cooperated with Coursera to design a course on decentralization of blockchain. And opened an undergraduate department to teach people what blockchain is. In view of the lack of understanding of blockchain within the government and other industries, and the immaturity of key education in blockchain, it is very important to formulate standards, and it will be a powerful asset to be able to adapt to the standards that Ethereum can achieve. Of course, this is what the company can achieve with limited interaction with other industries and government agencies.
Why is all this important? Because it enables ConsenSys to convey to regulators, governments and the wider world what the blockchain really is, or more accurately, what they want the encryption industry to be regarded as.
ConsenSys: A model of the future network?
Some people say that Kang sainz is the Ethereum. Although this is an excessive metaphor, the importance of ConsenSys to Ethereum is undeniable, because it acts as a lobbying group, incubator and technical driving force at the same time. However, ConsenSys is not only related to Ethereum, but also important to the whole encryption industry by establishing contacts with the government, supervision and industry. This may continue to increase in the next few years, because it expands the products of enterprises and venture capital, and plays a greater role in encryption and industry.
Original link: /concensys- Understanding-One of the most important companies-Encryption -7e 1d66533d4a.