What is Linea crypto and how does it work?

Linea is an Ethereum layer 2 blockchain built by the software firm Consensys. It is a zkEVM rollup, meaning it processes transactions off Ethereum's main chain and uses zero-knowledge proofs to show Ethereum they were handled correctly. Consensys announced the Linea mainnet alpha on July 11, 2023.

What is the Linea blockchain?

Linea is designed to work like Ethereum. Consensys described it at launch as fully compatible with Ethereum bytecode, so developers can deploy existing Ethereum apps without rewriting them. Users interact with it through ordinary Ethereum wallets, and Consensys said Linea had built-in support in MetaMask from day one.

The benefit is cost. At launch, Consensys said fees could be up to 15 times lower than on Ethereum's main layer, with a fee mechanism that adjusts to changes in Ethereum gas prices.

What does Linea crypto do?

Linea's role is to give Ethereum more capacity while staying closely aligned with it. As of October 2026, Linea's docs say gas is paid in ETH, so users do not need the LINEA token to send transactions. Fees flow into a revenue vault, and after infrastructure costs such as posting data and proofs to Ethereum are covered, the surplus is burned.

This dual burn splits the surplus two ways. 20% of it is sent to an unusable address as ETH, removing it permanently. The other 80% is swapped for LINEA on a Linea exchange, bridged to Ethereum and burned there, because LINEA's supply is tracked on Ethereum. growthepie reports the burn went live on November 4, 2025, backdated to September 11, 2025. For more on how removing tokens works, see our token burn guide.

What is the Linea coin, and how did the airdrop work?

LINEA is Linea's token. Its docs set a fixed maximum supply of 72,009,990,000. Here is how it is split:

• 85% goes to the ecosystem, including a 75% Ecosystem Fund that unlocks over 10 years and 10% for early users and builders.
• 15% goes to the Consensys treasury, locked for five years.
• There is no allocation for private investors, insiders or team members.

The docs state plainly that LINEA has no governance rights. Its main uses are rewarding activity on Linea and taking part in the burn.

The token generation event took place on September 10, 2025, according to Decrypt. About 9.3 billion LINEA went to around 750,000 eligible wallets that had earned enough points in Linea's Voyage or Surge programs, with a 90-day claim window. A Swiss nonprofit called the Linea Association distributes the token, while a group of Ethereum organizations known as the Linea Consortium manages the ecosystem allocation.

Fake airdrop claim pages can appear around token launches, so official links from Linea's own channels are the safest reference.