Linea Airdrop: Will the Token Fail or Breathe Life into L2s?

Key Takeaways:

• Linea is scheduled to launch its token in Q1 2025, with pre-market pricing exceeding $3.
• Linea’s airdrop will play an important position in its community exercise and repute.
• Whereas Linea exhibits secure metrics, the general Layer 2 market faces challenges, as seen with Scroll and Starknet.

Linea (LINEA) is ready to launch its token in Q1, although no actual date has been given. Will it’s one more failed Layer 2 (L2), or is actual change lastly coming?

Linea is a Layer 2 protocol for Ethereum (ETH). The mainnet was launched on Aug. 16, 2023, and the undertaking printed its roadmap in January 2025. The plan outlines the launch of the LINEA token in Q1, which can be a key occasion for the undertaking.

In keeping with Logx information, LINEA’s worth has already risen above $3 within the pre-market. On the finish of January, the token was valued at round $2.4. Nonetheless, this doesn’t assure the undertaking’s success or additional progress after itemizing.

The issue is that though L2 is a stable product—technically as effectively—and performs an essential position for Ethereum, its tokens present little worth progress. L2 cash considerably lag behind their Layer 1 (L1) rivals.

In keeping with Dune information, L1 cash have fallen by 28% year-to-date (YTD), accounting for the present correction, whereas L2 cash are close to the underside of the rankings with a 43% drop.

This can be attributable to Ethereum’s present struggles—its worth decline and disagreements between Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Basis. In concept, the stronger ETH performs, the higher it’s for L2s, as their success is interconnected.

Nonetheless, the Linea community has been working for 1.5 years and has secured its place amongst different L2s. Let’s check out the chain information to see if the undertaking has potential.

Linea and Opponents

Airdrops usually affect community exercise and point out the extent of market anticipation.

In its annual report on the crypto trade, Binance famous that Linea has outpaced different zero-knowledge rollups (zk-rollups) in every day energetic addresses. Peak exercise occurred between July and August 2024, surpassing 750,000 every day energetic addresses.

By the top of the 12 months, Linea’s every day energetic addresses declined to round 41,000 however remained increased than rivals like Scroll (SCR), Starknet (STRK), and zkSync Period.

Analyzing post-airdrop information can be important to gauge Linea’s future trajectory. Nonetheless, it’s value noting the “weak spot” of rivals, notably Scroll.

Scroll was among the many most anticipated airdrops of 2024. After the SCR airdrop and its October itemizing, customers expressed disappointment over token allocations, accusing the undertaking of an unfair distribution.

Scroll’s worth has dropped roughly 60% from its all-time excessive (ATH), presently sitting at $0.57. It just lately hit a low of $0.48 on Feb. 3.

Starknet’s scenario is much more dire. STRK has misplaced almost 95% of its worth in comparison with its ATH, falling from $4.41 to round $0.25.

Regardless of these challenges within the broader L2 panorama, Linea secured a spot within the prime 10, rating seventh with $541 million in complete worth secured (TVS), also called complete worth locked (TVL). Nonetheless, it trails behind zkSync Period (4th place) and Starknet (fifth place).

The L2 leaders are clear: Arbitrum (ARB) holds 1st place, adopted by Base and Optimism (OP) in 2nd and third, respectively.

Curiously, in Could 2024, Linea was not far behind Arbitrum in on-chain revenue, recording $612,000 in comparison with Arbitrum’s $802,000. Base, nonetheless, led with $6.98 million, partly pushed by the expansion of the decentralized change (DEX) Aerodrom.

By January 2025, Linea entered the highest 5 rollups in on-chain revenue, rating 4th with $369,570. Whereas that is about 1.5 occasions decrease than in Could 2024, it probably displays the broader crypto market correction.

Will Linea Succeed or Finish Up Like Scroll?

Linea could turn out to be a breath of contemporary air for different L2 initiatives. Regardless of the extraordinary competitors amongst Layer 2 protocols, as many such chains exist, one Arbitrum alone can’t deal with Ethereum’s load. Furthermore, every protocol has its specifics. The undertaking’s prospects depend upon a number of components

ConsenSys, the corporate behind Linea’s growth, can also be accountable for some of the well-known crypto wallets, MetaMask. This affiliation could add reputational worth to Linea.

Linea’s prospects additionally hinge on the upcoming airdrop. Sadly, “unsuccessful” token distributions have turn out to be widespread within the crypto trade. The latest hype round Berachain (BERA), dubbed the “Ethereum killer,” is a chief instance.

The neighborhood eagerly anticipated BERA’s launch and mainnet completion, however the undertaking confronted accusations of insider buying and selling and skilled a worth collapse after its change itemizing.

Maybe Linea’s connection to ConsenSys affords some hope for a well-managed airdrop, as a failure might result in a lack of belief within the firm.

It is usually essential to think about robust rivals like Arbitrum and Base. Linea will want important effort to interrupt into the highest 5 L2 protocols and keep its place.

Chain information signifies a stable basis for Linea’s token launch, which might add worth to the undertaking. Nonetheless, total, L2 statistics current a grim image. Whereas these protocols are technically and conceptually essential for DeFi, the market may have time to acknowledge their significance.

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