Consensys announced it has acquired Wallet Guard, a security tool for protecting digital assets and data from theft, scams and fraud.

The acquisition aims to integrate Wallet Guard’s advanced security features into MetaMask to improve user protection within Web3.

With Wallet Guard’s background in transaction validation and client-side heuristics, MetaMask users can expect improved security capabilities such as scam and drainer detection.

Wallet Guard integration

The integration will involve the Wallet Guard team joining Consensys within the MetaMask Product Safety Team to ensure a smooth transition.

In a written Q&A, Patrick Berarducci, Consensys’ MetaMask and Infura Business Group lead, explained:

“Users will be protected from the ever-evolving threats in our ecosystem such as malicious DApps and scams through advanced phishing detection, web scrapers, and blocklist and transaction analysis APIs that allow for an advanced scam detection.”

Berarducci explained to Cointelegraph that through the Wallet Guard integration, Consensys aims “to drive user fund losses to zero.” 

User safety

The acquisition reflects an increased focus on user safety as the threat of crypto hacks and scams in Web3 continues to rise.

According to the “2024 Crypto Crime Report” by Chainalysis, over $1.7 billion in crypto assets were stolen through scams in 2023.

Discussing the increasing priority for user safety in Web3 and the implications of the acquisition, Berarducci explained:

“We believe integrating them into Consensys/MetaMask will be an additional layer of security for our users, in addition to our continued collaborations with security partners with Web3.”

Ongoing SEC lawsuit

Despite progressing toward improved user wallet security, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest lawsuit against Consensys looms over the acquisition.

According to a complaint filed by the SEC on June 28, Consensys has operated as an unregistered broker and collected over $250 million in fees without proper SEC registration.

Consensys sued the SEC in April after receiving a Wells notice from the federal agency, stating that the SEC had been “pursuing an anti-crypto agenda led by ad hoc enforcement action.”