MetaMask is Consensys's flagship wallet,@Linea.eth it is Consensys's own zkEVM Layer 2. The two have been destined to be tied together since their inception.

I first noticed this combination in 2023 #Linea when the mainnet launched. At that time, MetaMask directly included #Linea it in the network list by default, without needing to manually add RPC or mess with the Chain ID; it was just a one-click switch. Many people were worried at the time, thinking their wallets had been hacked, but the official explanation was: this is our own chain, don't panic. Looking back, it's quite interesting. Which other L2 can enjoy such 'favorite son' treatment? Even Arbitrum and Optimism have to rely on users to click on ChainList themselves.

The technical selection of Linea itself carries the shadow of MetaMask. It is not the kind of half-baked zkEVM, but one that is fully bytecode compatible with Ethereum. What does this mean? It means you can copy Solidity code from the mainnet with basically no modifications needed. Developers are at ease, and users are at ease as well. More importantly, Linea uses a Lattice-based prover, achieving block finality in a flash, basically confirming in just a few seconds. Gas fees? During peak times on the mainnet, it can easily reach dozens of dollars,$LINEA often settled for just a few cents. This is not simply 'cheap', but truly enables DeFi, NFTs, and gaming scenarios to land at scale.

But just having impressive technology is not enough; Linea's most ruthless move is treating MetaMask as a traffic entry point. In 2024, MetaMask will launch a physical card (MetaMask Card), running directly on Linea. Swiping the card converts crypto assets into fiat in real-time, and cash back goes directly to the wallet. Once this thing is out, it instantly transforms 'crypto payment' from science fiction into everyday life. European users can now earn some Coinmunity Cashback just by buying a coffee or a subway ticket. Projects in the Linea ecosystem fill the reward pool with memecoins and NFTs; whoever swipes the card earns. Traditional bank credit card cash back is only 1-2%, here it can be 10%+, and all in on-chain assets. This is the real killing power: directly channeling tens of millions of MetaMask users to Linea.

Going deeper, the mUSD (MetaMask USD) stablecoin launched by MetaMask in 2025 also regards Linea as its main battlefield. mUSD can not only seamlessly be exchanged, bridged, and used for gas fees within MetaMask, but also directly connects to Linea's Ignition incentive plan. Depositing mUSD into protocols like Etherex, Euler, Aave earns additional tens of millions $LINEA in rewards, with annualized returns easily ranging from 20-60%. MetaMask Rewards' first season directly distributed over 30 million dollars' worth of LINEA tokens to users, doubling points based on actions on the Linea chain. This is not just cooperation; this is simply a transference of resources from one hand to the other, tilting the entire Consensys ecosystem's resources towards Linea.

Many people say Linea is the 'favorite child chain', but I think this term underestimates it. Linea is not reliant on its parent for success, but is the ultimate answer that Consensys created to address the real pain points of Ethereum (high gas fees, slow confirmations, high user thresholds). As the world's largest self-custody wallet, MetaMask holds the traffic of hundreds of millions of users; Linea, as the smoothest zkEVM, provides the best underlying track. The combination of the two creates a closed loop: users enter through MetaMask → play DeFi, swipe cards, earn rewards on Linea → assets remain in the ecosystem to snowball.

Of course, Linea is not without pressure. Competitors like Polygon zkEVM, zkSync, and Scroll are not weak. But Linea's trump cards are too strong: Infura's RPC, MetaMask's default support, Consensys's enterprise-level resources (even traditional financial giants like SWIFT are testing the waters with Linea). In the future, if MetaMask's MASK token really takes off, Linea will definitely be one of the core battlefields.