Linea by ConsenSys: status and timeline

Milestones

Next · Type 1 zkEVM compatibility (full Ethereum equivalence)

Linea development begins2022Complete.
Mainnet Alpha launchAug 2023Complete.
Alpha V2 upgrade with batch aggregation2024Complete.
Linea becomes top 5 Layer 2 on EthereumJul 2026Complete.
ConsenSys restructuring; Linea at center of institutional entity9 Sep 2026Complete.
Type 1 zkEVM compatibility (full Ethereum equivalence)Target 2027Not yet reached.

Upcoming

2027Type 1 zkEVM compatibility (full Ethereum equivalence) (next)

Current obstacles

Proof generation latencyGenerating zero-knowledge proofs adds a delay before transactions are finalized on L1, longer than optimistic rollups but secure without assumptions.

Physics limits

Settlement throughput is capped by EthereumEven with compression, Linea can only post proofs as fast as Ethereum accepts them; during periods of high L1 congestion, finality slows.

How it works

3 parts

Batching

Transactions bundled and compressed

Linea collects user transactions into batches, compresses them, and sends them to Ethereum as calldata, amortizing L1 costs across many users.

Proof

Zero-knowledge proof of validity

Generates a proof that batch transactions executed correctly without revealing details, settling proof on L1.

Compatibility

Full EVM equivalence

Runs unmodified Solidity; existing Ethereum contracts deploy with minimal tooling changes.

Spec sheet

Spec	Linea
Layer type	Type 2 zkEVM^R (reported)
Settlement layer	Ethereum L1^R (reported)
ETH fee burn (protocol-level)	20% of fees burned^R (reported)
Gas reduction vs Ethereum	~66% reduction (Alpha V2)^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

About ConsenSys

The team behind Linea

ConsenSys

MetaMask, Infura, Ethereum developer tools, Web3 infrastructure

Ethereum infrastructure company founded 2015. Built MetaMask and Infura. Sept 2026 split into MetaMask (consumer) and ConsenSys (institutional, centered on Linea Layer 2).

Created MetaMask (100M+ users) and Infura (millions daily API calls); backbone of Ethereum.
March 2022 raised $450M at $7B valuation in Series D. Sept 2026 split into MetaMask and ConsenSys.
ConsenSys now focused on institutional protocols with Linea zkEVM at center; preparing IPO for fall 2026.

consensys.io (opens consensys.io)Company profile →

Founded: 201511 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Raised: $450M1 round
Last round: Series D · $450MMar 2022
Works in: CryptoRollups & ZK proofs
Coverage: 1 program · 3 updateslatest 9 Sep 2026checked 10 Oct
Partners: Ethereum Foundation (opens ethereum.org)
People: Joseph Lubin (opens en.wikipedia.org)Founder

Spec

Linea

Layer type

Type 2 zkEVM^R (reported)

Settlement layer

Ethereum L1^R (reported)

ETH fee burn (protocol-level)

20% of fees burned^R (reported)

Gas reduction vs Ethereum

~66% reduction (Alpha V2)^R (reported)