JPMorgan and UBS invest in Ethereum developer ConsenSys as part of $65 million funding round

• JPMorgan, UBS and Mastercard have invested in Ethereum developer ConsenSys as part of a $65 million raise.
• ConsenSys is at the heart of the Ethereum network, which is central to NFTs and DeFi technology.
• The investments are the latest sign of big players' growing interest in the crypto world.

JPMorgan, UBS and Mastercard have invested in ConsenSys, a leading development company for the Ethereum blockchain network, as part of a $65 million fundraising round aimed at further growing decentralized finance on the system.

The investment follows a number of high profile moves by big players into the crypto world, which is becoming increasingly attractive to mainstream institutions. It also demonstrates the growing appeal of Ethereum, often seen as a rival to the Bitcoin blockchain network, to many investors.

ConsenSys said in a statement the $65 million would help the company further develop decentralized finance and other applications on the Ethereum network.

Mike Dargan, head of group technology at UBS, said the financing would help the bank be ready for the future. "This investment underscores our commitment to working with fintechs and the broader tech ecosystem to shape the future of banking for the benefits of our clients," he said.

Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset products at Mastercard said: "Enterprise Ethereum is a key infrastructure on which we, and our partners, are building payment and non-payment applications to power the future of commerce."

ConsenSys is a software development company that is at the heart of the Ethereum network, which has become central to new crypto trends including non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance. It was founded in 2014 by Joe Lubin, one of the founders of the Ethereum network itself.

Many investors are enthusiastic about the Ethereum network due to the broad range of applications and systems that can be built on it. For example, it is the main network for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, the hottest new crypto craze.

Decentralized finance, or DeFi, applications are also most commonly built on the Ethereum network. DeFi seeks to replace a range of centralized and regulated banking institutions with decentralized systems and products, essentially cutting the middleman out of many contracts.

Other investors in the $65 million raise included blockchain companies Protocol Labs, the Maker Foundation, Fenbushi, The LAO, and Alameda Research.