Consensys Introduces Nonprofit Association to Decentralize Linea

Consensys is decentralizing its layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution, Linea, with a newly formed Swiss nonprofit, the Linea Association.

Announced at Devcon, the association oversees the growth and governance of Linea, which is transition from corporate control to community leadership.

The association's first goal is to support Linea's technology by expanding the Linea ecosystem and advancing the platform’s decentralization roadmap.

According to Linea’s product lead, Declan Fox, the organization’s long-term vision includes implementing governance through tokenholders. Linea’s token, set to launch in early 2025, will give holders the power to influence key decisions and shape the future of the platform.

Fox added that the team is still working on the details, stating, “We want to do this in a very sort of open and transparent way.”

The Association is committed to advancing Linea’s mission to empower the world to live onchain by focusing on priorities such as developing Linea Mainnet, improving decentralization through governance and sequencing mechanisms, and supporting developers in building user-friendly decentralized applications (dApps).

“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," said Nicolas Liochon, Founder of Linea and member of the Board of the Linea Association.

"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.”

Consensys founder Joseph Lubin sees this shift as essential for true decentralization, expressing that successful L2 solutions must avoid centralized control.

Last month, Consensys announced a significant workforce reduction of 162 employees across all departments, or approximately 20%.

While the exact nature of these legal challenges remains undisclosed, it's widely speculated that they are related to increasing regulatory scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).