Linea, the Ethereum layer-2 network, will launch its native LINEA token on September 10. The token generation event (TGE) opens the airdrop claim window, with more than 9 billion tokens available to eligible early users and a distribution plan that allocates 75% of supply to ecosystem participants and 15% to Consensys’ treasury.
The LINEA token is issued by the Swiss nonprofit Linea Association and was developed with support from Consensys. Unlike many layer-2 tokens, LINEA will not be the network’s gas token — transactions on Linea will continue to use ETH for fees. LINEA carries no governance rights and will be subject to a buyback-and-burn mechanism funded by a portion of ETH fee revenue. The token’s total supply is set at 72,009,990,000 LINEA.
Distribution is split into three buckets. Around 10% (roughly 9.3 billion LINEA) is reserved for early adopters who earned points during Linea’s Voyage and Surge campaigns; eligibility required at least 2,000 Voyage points or 15,000 Surge points. After filtering suspected sybil wallets, about 750,000 wallets remain to share that allocation. An additional 1% of the early-adopter allocation is set aside for strategic builders and will be distributed directly.
The largest share — 75% of supply — will be distributed to ecosystem participants by the Linea Consortium, a collective that includes firms such as SharpLink Gaming, ENS Labs, Eigen Labs and Consensys. Portions of this fund are already moving: 4% was allocated at TGE for Surge liquidity providers and 1 billion tokens are earmarked for Linea Ignition, a liquidity-bootstrapping event running through October 26.
Consensys retains 15% of tokens, locked for five years. Eligible claimants will have 90 days to claim; unclaimed tokens will revert to the ecosystem fund for later distribution.
Why this matters: The airdrop is designed to onboard liquidity and users to Ethereum via Linea and to create native yield opportunities for ETH stakers. That said, the token’s lack of governance, concentrated distribution mechanisms administered by the consortium, and the long Consensys lockup are material considerations for users and investors. The buyback-and-burn policy could affect circulating supply if implemented, but token value will ultimately hinge on network adoption and the consortium’s distribution choices.
Practical takeaway: check the airdrop eligibility tool, claim within the 90-day window if eligible, and understand allocation rules and lockups before trading or relying on LINEA as an asset.
Source: Decrypt. Read the original coverage for full details.