Powerhouses Join Forces! ConsenSys Acquires J.P. Morgan's Blockchain Platform "Quorum"

Blockchain developer ConsenSys announced on August 25 that it has officially acquired "Quorum," a blockchain platform owned by JPMorgan, to promote the widespread adoption of enterprise blockchain. Both parties have declined to disclose specific acquisition details.

In an official Blog post, ConsenSys stated that this move will accelerate the adoption of Ethereum-based solutions by enterprises, allowing them to tailor secure and high-performance solutions. The platform will be renamed as an open-source protocol product "ConsenSys Quorum," and JPMorgan has also made a strategic investment in ConsenSys.

ConsenSys

ConsenSys was founded by Joseph Lubin, one of the co-founders of Ethereum. Enterprises can deploy institutional-grade products developed by ConsenSys to achieve functions such as asset tokenization, payments, document management, process optimization, and risk compliance. Lubin expressed his excitement about the significant acquisition:

We are excited to have Quorum join ConsenSys. We look forward to a long partnership with J.P. Morgan, opening up an era of enterprise and mainnet compatibility, while continuing to support J.P. Morgan's projects.

Quorum

Quorum is an open-source blockchain platform launched by J.P. Morgan based on Ethereum's code. It is primarily used in blockchain pilot projects in the financial industry. Umar Farooq, Global Head of Blockchain at J.P. Morgan, stated in an interview:

The Quorum team will remain at J.P. Morgan, and we believe that under ConsenSys' leadership in services and software development, Quorum will thrive.

It is understood that within the ConsenSys ecosystem, ConsenSys Quorum will remain an open-source project that anyone can use to build production-grade applications. Furthermore, ConsenSys will continue to operate open-source and maintain compatibility with the Ethereum mainnet client version of Hyperledger Besu, allowing Quorum and Besu to remain interoperable.

In fact, Reuters had previously reported in February this year that the 25-person Quorum team might merge into ConsenSys. Additionally, ConsenSys has undergone several restructuring actions this year, including a 14% workforce reduction in April, marking the second round of layoffs since the first quarter. However, Lubin explained at the time that this was a natural response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It appears that ConsenSys is not facing internal crises and they will be hosting a webinar on September 16 to introduce ConsenSys Quorum.