If the L2 war in the first three years was about the TVL rankings and various incentive activities, then after 2025, the rhythm has clearly changed. Linea is no longer just the 'zk research project by ConsenSys', but has started to clearly label itself - 'The L2 where Ethereum wins', positioning itself as the main stage for ETH capital, while using protocol layer rules, incentives, and new tokens to steer the entire chain's narrative towards 'long-term returns' and 'capital efficiency'.
First, clarify the technical foundation before discussing opportunities. Linea is essentially an EVM-equivalent zk-rollup that packages user transactions on layer two, generates zero-knowledge proofs off-chain, and then submits the state and proofs back to the Ethereum mainnet for final settlement. This means that on one hand, it tries to maintain a similar development experience to the Ethereum mainnet - Solidity and existing toolchains migrate seamlessly; on the other hand, security still relies on Ethereum, while transaction fees and throughput are optimized by layer two, making it a typical case of 'changing layers without changing stacks' for developers.
What's more interesting is that Linea's choices in economic design are now directly incorporated into the narrative: every transaction uses ETH to pay gas, while a portion of the fees is directly burned in the protocol layer, effectively feeding back the Layer 2 activity to Ethereum's supply side, making ETH's value capture more closed-loop. In simple terms, the more you use Linea, the more not only does Layer 2 benefit, but the Ethereum 'parent chain asset' also gains advantages. This strong binding is a significant difference from many Layer 2s that only focus on their own tokens.
What truly makes players feel that 'the rules have changed' is the new round of layouts surrounding LINEA tokens and a series of incentive plans that started this year. The official has clearly stated that LINEA is 'the token driving Ethereum's second decade', along with the launch of a qualification checker and airdrop activity page. Some early users, liquidity providers, and ecological contributors have earned the first wave of chips through on-chain activities. Rather than merely being a 'token distribution moment', it’s more about making the previously implicit rules of 'points, tasks, and events' explicit: in the future, who can earn long-term returns on this chain will depend on whether you are truly the person making this chain operational, rather than who can complete tasks most effectively.
Surrounding DeFi and TVL, Linea has also drawn a separate main line—the Ignition plan. The official wording is straightforward: this is a project approved by the Linea Alliance, aimed at accelerating Linea DeFi's 'active TVL', while bringing in real liquidity to the protocol and incentivizing those LPs willing to take the first few risks. In the future, this TVL will become the fuel for the Native Yield mechanism. For DeFi players, there are two layers of information: first, Linea is more inclined to reward those who 'dare to put capital on-chain' rather than just short-term visitors who brush interactions; second, if the Native Yield line is successfully implemented, it would institutionalize the 'chain-level returns' concept, where those who help raise the TVL early on will have opportunities to share in the long-term profits.
Another noteworthy dimension is its deep binding with off-chain payment + on-chain rebate models like MetaMask Card and Coinmunity. The official updates have adjusted the structure and issuance rhythm of Coinmunity Cashback, aiming to make the reward pool more sustainable; at the same time, using MetaMask Card for consumption can yield considerable cashback, which, when combined with boosts on DeFi protocols like Aave, creates a closed loop between 'daily spending' and 'on-chain lending'. With this setup, it's evident that Linea is not just looking for short-term traffic from 'brushing airdrops', but aims to make real consumption and real lending happen on its chain, locking the circulation path of 'ETH capital' within the ecosystem.
From the data of the chain itself, Linea is no longer that small network in the cold start phase. On the block explorer, it can be seen that the total number of transactions on the mainnet has reached hundreds of millions, and the trading pace over the past 14 days has maintained a stable TPS level, with the median gas price in an almost negligible range of 0.0x Gwei, equivalent to less than one cent per transaction. This is due to the significant reduction in L2 data costs brought by EIP-4844 after Ethereum's Dencun upgrade. For ordinary users, this translates to 'just a couple of clicks without worrying about transaction fees'; for protocols and those employing high-frequency strategies, it means that some modes that are completely unfeasible on the mainnet finally have experimental space here.
On the governance level, Linea is also transitioning from a 'company project' to 'ecological public infrastructure'. The establishment of the Linea Association clearly defines the positioning of this chain: initiated by Consensys, but ultimately owned by the community; the association's responsibilities include promoting technology adoption, application dissemination, and community influence growth. In other words, future decisions on how incentives are distributed and which areas resources tilt towards will become more of a multi-party participatory game rather than a decision made by a single company, which serves as a more predictable governance signal for long-term developers and institutional capital remaining on the chain.
Returning to what many people care most about, 'how do the rule changes affect me', it can be roughly broken down into three roles. For ordinary users, the biggest change is: all your actions on Linea are likely to be recalibrated. The previous model of 'casually coming in to complete tasks and leave' will see a decrease in the weight of future returns; in contrast, those who can continuously engage in real interactions on this chain and participate in lending, trading, and payments in mainstream protocols will have more opportunities to secure positions in subsequent incentive or compensation distributions. For DeFi players and liquidity providers, the focus has shifted from 'brushing transaction volume' to 'providing sustainable TVL', especially for those participating in protocols heavily covered by Ignition or Native Yield, where returns will show significant 'incentive premiums'; at the same time, this also requires everyone to take risk control more seriously, so as not to put themselves at risk from contracts or projects just to chase a bit of on-chain incentives. For developers and project parties, Linea provides an EVM equivalent + low-fee hardware environment, while also promoting special supports like the three-month growth plan Exponent on platforms like X, effectively telling you: this is a chain very friendly to the application layer; as long as you are willing to bring your product and users here, you can gain more enhancements in resources, traffic, and narrative.
So as an old user who has been running back and forth on Layer 2 for several years, how would I suggest you use Linea? First step, don’t just treat it as 'another place to brush for airdrops', but first use a small amount of ETH to bridge onto the chain through the official entry, get familiar with mainstream wallets, bridges, and browsers on-chain infrastructure, and confirm that you can understand what each transaction is doing. Second step, from the mainstream DeFi protocols listed on Linea Hub or the official blog, pick one or two that you are also familiar with, such as lending, DEX, or stablecoin protocols, and try lending and providing liquidity with very restrained positions to feel the differences in performance and experience on this chain, while paying attention to whether the projects are linked to Ignition or Native Yield, as this will affect your future overall yield. The third step, if you also have needs for payments and daily consumption, you can pay attention to the cashback + DeFi Boost gameplay offered by MetaMask Card in conjunction with Linea, but also remember that this is based on your pre-existing consumption and not to brush extra just for cashback. The final step, for those truly wanting to go all-in on this chain, monitoring the governance dynamics of the Linea Association, the actual allocation and usage changes of LINEA tokens within the ecosystem, and the overall evolution of the L2 industry regarding decentralization and data costs will be key variables in determining this chain's ceiling.
This round of operations by Linea is actually upgrading the comparison of 'which Layer 2 has higher TPS' to 'which Layer 2 is better at managing ETH capital, providing more certainty for long-term users and developers'. For players already deeply involved in the Ethereum ecosystem, the technology stack, incentive designs, and narrative direction of this chain are worth at least a look before deciding whether to root long-term. Azur will continue to monitor the substantial actions it takes in Native Yield, decentralization, and governance, and will gradually share insights with everyone.
