The world is full of networks, including a number of massive and privately owned social and data services we rely on that have become machines of value extraction, co-opting control over user data for the benefit of the network owner.

There is a better way.

Linea is the counterweight to today’s stifling tech oligopoly, built to be the home network for the world with a mission to empower everyone to live on chain. But such an important project shouldn’t live inside a single company, even one as storied and diverse as Consensys.

Today, Linea announces a new era of the decentralization of its governance through the creation of a Swiss non-profit association. The Linea Association is dedicated to developing the protocol and nurturing Linea’s ecosystem. The Swiss Association model provides unprecedented rights to community members, including legal rights to tokenholders. Under this model, tokenholders will benefit from distinct legal rights exceeding the community empowerment seen in most DAOs. Linea has been bootstrapped by Consensys, but it will very soon be operated by the community that has coalesced on the network.

“Decentralization is at the core of Linea's vision. Linea must be owned and governed openly by all as a public good, just as Layer 1 Ethereum is. The establishment of the Linea Association ensures that the protocol's future lies in the hands of its community, empowering users and developers to shape its trajectory collaboratively and transparently. The Linea Association will represent a growing ecosystem of Ethereum technologists, builders, and users with the mission to empower the world to live onchain,” said Nicolas Liochon, Founder of Linea and member of the Board of the Linea Association.

Yes, all this also means a Linea token is being planned for Q1 2025. The intent of the $LINEA token will be to provide holders governance rights, empowered by legal protections under Swiss Law, and is planned to have multi-utility functionality.

Claiming your voice on Linea starts with the solid foundation of Ethereum and infrastructure that can be accessed from around the world by anyone, regardless of political, social or economic situation.  Thanks to zk rollup technology built upon Ethereum’s world computer, Linea brings a staggeringly fast, affordable, secure and scalable network for your assets, payments, data, digital identity and more.

While Linea Mainnet is only about 15 months old, it has already become the fastest-growing zkEVM, amassing over 230 million total transactions and 420 partners taking on the challenges of improving the web3 experience for users, builders and communities.

Here are some key components to the onchain lifestyle enabled by Linea that will allow you to express your true voice across critical experiences:

1. Payments in one place, totally under your control - Linea is the home network for MetaMask Card, allowing you to spend directly from your MetaMask wallet on real-world transactions, with conversion to fiat currencies happening only at the point of payment. MetaMask Card is not a prepaid, top-up or credit card with crypto rewards like other offerings, but rather a real crypto debit card.  This is all alongside a wider ecosystem of DeFi on Linea, allowing users to not only transact but also earn yield on their assets that outperforms many banks. Your keys, your crypto, your card.

2. Your identity, secure and supercharged - Linea’s identity stack starts with attestations on Verax, Proof of Humanity and Linea Names, a collaboration with ENS. These tools allow Lineans to take control of their digital identity and potentially unlock new rewards, offers, discounts and more. In the future this stack will also power more robust social interactions onchain, creating a network and profile that’s portable and controlled by the user rather than captured by a handful of companies. A rewards engine for dapps on Linea is already being built to encourage more and varied types of data onchain, unlocking new utility, value and opportunities. We’re building the network where humans live and benefit from network effects.Identity is also about more than just individuals. Linea is listening and building for those who look onchain for entertainment and belonging, with communities that have already popped up organically around projects like Foxy and efrogs.

3. Your data, your call - Moving to a life onchain means taking control of even more personal, business, and community data, starting with identity and financial assets but eventually expanding to intellectual property and the content, preferences and social data we currently give away to tech companies for free.

At the core of this new onchain lifestyle lies the importance of decentralization built around community ownership and governance. This makes the new Linea Association potentially one of the most important new entities formed this year. We’re excited to build it alongside you and eager to hear your voice on Linea.