—— A long letter to ordinary users, not a white paper, nor a promotional article
1. Let's start with the most genuine feeling. Have you ever had this experience: wanting to exchange a $50 coin on Ethereum, or mint an NFT, then realizing the gas fee is $60, and silently closing the wallet with a sigh? All Ethereum users around the world have probably experienced this PTSD moment. Linea was created to cure this 'Ethereum PTSD'.
It does not aim to overthrow Ethereum, nor does it want to be the 'Ethereum killer'.
It simply wants to make Ethereum return to the way we initially fell in love with it:
Useful, cheap, convenient, just like what normal software should be.
2. What exactly is Linea? In plain language, it is an Ethereum Layer 2 that uses a technology called zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine). This may sound very hardcore, but the principles are actually quite easy to understand:
All your operations (swapping coins, minting NFTs, playing chain games...) are completed quickly on Linea, with fees so low you can barely feel them.
After finishing a bunch of tasks, Linea won't send every transaction back to Ethereum's mainnet (which would be expensive and slow), but will package it into a super small 'mathematical receipt' to tell Ethereum:
"All my tens of thousands of transactions are legitimate, no rules are broken at all; you can confidently update the ledger."
Ethereum takes a glance at the receipt and nods: "OK, it's gone."
The entire process takes just a few seconds, and the cost might only be a few dimes in RMB.
Fast, cheap, and fully compatible with Ethereum natively, this is all the magic of Linea.
3. Why does it feel 'reliable and comfortable'? (1) It feels exactly the same as Ethereum; no need to change wallets, no need to modify RPC, dApps can basically run directly. For users, switching to Linea has almost zero cost, like moving to a spacious copy, with the same quirks and unchanged gameplay.
(2) Behind it is ConsenSys - the parent of MetaMask
The team behind Linea is not a bunch of kids just graduated from crypto university, but rather the group that has been laying the foundation for Ethereum since 2016.
MetaMask, Infura, Codefi... these basic infrastructures you use every day are all created by them.
The trust brought by this background is something that many new public chains cannot earn no matter how hard they try.
(3) The token model is so clean that it raises doubts about life
• Network gas fees are always paid in ETH, not forcing you to buy new tokens;
• LINEA tokens are 100% given to the community, ecosystem, and builders.
• Team 0 distribution, investors 0 distribution.
In the crypto world, this is almost an 'anti-human' operation.
But it is precisely this anti-human approach that makes people feel: oh, there are still people who treat users as humans.
4. What does the ecosystem look like now? Although it has only been online for a little over a year, it is already quite lively:
DeFi: Swapping coins has almost no transaction fees, arbitrage players and high-frequency traders can take off directly;
NFT: Minting no longer requires gambling on gas, you can participate whenever you want;
Chain games: the action cost is as low as a few cents, real playable on-chain games are finally starting to appear;
Tools: MetaMask, Infura, and Blockscout all natively supported, the experience feels like a favored child.
The overall atmosphere is not like some chains shouting orders and slogans all day long; it’s relatively quiet and steady, like a newly renovated neighborhood where everyone is slowly moving in.
5. Where do we want to go in the future? The official roadmap is very realistic, not painting a big picture of 'crushing Ethereum by 2025', focusing on three main things:
(1) Decentralization: Currently, the sequencer and prover are still held by the team; in the future, there will gradually be multi-sequencer, permissionless proof networks, staking, and penalty mechanisms, step by step, without rushing to shout 'fully decentralized'.
(2) Cheaper and faster: ZK proofs are still rapidly iterating, with the goal of bringing fees close to 0 and confirmation times close to instant.
(3) A better experience for newcomers: smoother bridges, better documentation, and simpler UI, so ordinary people won't be confused right from the start.
6. Disadvantages, honestly speaking
• It is indeed still centralized; the sequencer is a single point;
• ZK technology is tough; the costs of auditing and maintenance are high, and any mistake can be critical;
• The competition is fierce; Arbitrum, Base, zkSync, Scroll... each is a tough character.
Relying solely on 'good reputation' is definitely not enough; ultimately, it has to speak through experience and liquidity.
7. Finally, what I want to tell you is that if you ask me what Linea really wants to become, I don't think it wants to be 'the best Layer 2', nor does it want to replace Ethereum's mainnet known for its gas fees. It just wants to be the copy that makes you fall in love with Ethereum again.
A place where you can freely swap, mint, and play chain games without feeling pain in your wallet for every confirmation.
A place that makes you feel: oh, so this is how blockchain can be used.
If you haven't tried it yet, next time when gas prices are outrageous, click on the network switch in MetaMask and try Linea.
In the worst case, you spent 2 cents to experience it.
In the best case, you might discover:
That feeling that once kept us up all night playing CryptoKitties and snatching DeFi summer,
It seems to have quietly returned.
This is Linea.
A network that wants to make Ethereum friendly to ordinary people again, that's all.
