One of the world's largest banks, and in fact the largest bank in the United States is considering to merge its blockchain unit with one of the most well-known blockchain firms, ConsenSys. The blockchain unit within JPMorgan existing of 25 employees worldwide is the team behind Quorum, an Ethereum based private blockchain platform. This makes collaboration with ConsenSys more understandable; the blockchain firm focuses on Ethereum based solutions.

Reuters reported this development on the 11th of February. Supposedly, individuals involved with the matter claim that the merger will be announced in the coming six months. Financial details were not mentioned and are probably being negotiated.

Quorum

The Quorum platform is currently used by JPMorgan to operate the Interbank Information Network. A global payments network used by over 300 banks. JPMorgan has been evaluating how to move forward with Quorum for the past two years. Multiple options, like launching an open-source foundation or forming a new startup, are being considered. But now it seems a third option, the one of merging with an existing company is the most likely one.

Layoffs at Consensys

Only one week ago ConsenSys announced it would slim its employee base with 14%. The layoffs are part of a restructuring that is to separate the development branch from the venture activities.