Ethereum Startup ConsenSys Opens New London Office

Ethereum development startup ConsenSys is expanding to London.

The firm's new "European Hub" will be based in the U.K. capital, the startup announced earlier this week. It's the latest office launch for the company, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

That ConsenSys would look to acquire new office space is perhaps unsurprising, given a recent hiring spree that saw it tap figures who hailed from companies like IBM and Oracle, among others. ConsenSys says that it has 450 employees working worldwide, representing a quadrupling of numbers in the past year.

"The European Hub signifies not only our commitment to servicing and investing in key European enterprises, governments, and partners, but also a recognition of the depth of blockchain talent and entrepreneurship in London and across Europe," Joseph Lubin, ConsenSys founder and co-founder of the ethereum project, said in a statement.

The firm is also reportedly tapping a financial services veteran to help it set up the new office in London. Deutsche Bank's former chief digital officer of global transaction banking, Ed Budd, will join ConsenSys's U.K. operation as it gets off the ground, according to EFinancialCareers.com. Budd's LinkedIn profile lists him as having begun working for ConsenSys this month.

Budd was one of Deutsche Bank's point people on blockchain, and during his time there the bank pursued applications in areas like the digitization of corporate bonds.

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