Airdrop Sell-Off Sends Linea Token Crashing Nearly 85% in 24 Hours: What to Know?

Ethereum’s layer-2 network, Linea, has officially launched its token with a massive airdrop, marking a major milestone. Notably, there was a significant hype around these events, especially as top exchanges confirmed listing. However, despite that, the token has crashed 85% from its peak, sparking debate. Let’s discuss.

Linea Token and Airdrop Launch Fails

The long-awaited Linea token finally went live yesterday with one of the biggest distributions of 9.36 billion tokens. Notably, these tokens are sent to 749,000 eligible wallets as rewards for their contributions to the ecosystem. However, the appreciation turned into a sell-off, with whales mass dumping the token and crashing it to an all-time low of $0.02238 hours ago. 

Notably, similar to most tokens, the Linea price rose significantly and created an ATH of $0.1723 amid high demand. However, soon after that, the demand turned into a sell-off, crashing the tokens. 

Currently, it trades at 85% down from peak, $0.02355, with $364.74M in market capitalization and $971.6M in trading volume. 

Binance Curse Crashing Linea Token?

A conspiracy theory is widely spread in the crypto market, where the tokens with Binance listings face a 90-95% crash after launch. Now, as the Linea crypto lost nearly 100% of its value earlier in the day, hitting an all-time low, allegations are building. 

However, that is a theory and easily understandable as the airdrop and listing on top crypto exchanges fuel profit-taking. In the case of this Ethereum-Layer 2 token, there are also additional reasons, including the rollout issues. 

The token was launched 2 years after the mainnet. It had high fees, performance issues halted for 46 minutes right before TGE, and other issues frustrated users, leading to sell-offs right away. 

Additionally, there were concerns about the Linea token airdrop, since it favors Binance Alpha users and BNB holders over farmers. Some have even associated it with a meme coin, citing the lack of clear utility.

Joseph Lubin Hints at Further Awards

Joseph Lubin, the founder of Consensys and a key figure behind the Linea blockchain, has teased further rewards for the holders. In an X post, he said that holding the Linea token could open opportunities, as “MetaMask and Linea are cooking something together to make this happen.”

Well, just holding Linea will open up further rewards opportunities, mostly in other tokens; some from Consensys and some from protocols that we are aligned with.

MetaMask and Linea are cooking somETHing together to make this happen.

Together we are all bootstrapping the Linea… https://t.co/AGhPovMSBH

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) September 11, 2025

Now the 90-day claim window for Linea airdrop is open, and users can decide what to do with their tokens. Notably, the unclaimed ones will return to the Linea Consortium Ecosystem Fund.

Overall, the volatility attributed to the token launch, airdrop claims, and exchange listing fueled the demand at the beginning, opening the opportunity for profit. This eventually resulted in the Linea price crash.