March 28, 2025 — Decentralized asset protocol Linear Finance has announced the termination of its operations, citing prolonged financial difficulties and the recent delisting of its native token LINA by Binance as the decisive factor behind the closure.
In an official statement released on X, the Linear Finance team expressed deep regret over the shutdown. The team explained that while the protocol had enjoyed a brief period of profitability following its 2019-2020 launch, it failed to maintain sustainable revenue in the years that followed.
The project relied heavily on personal contributions from its founder and the sale of its native token, a model the team now acknowledges was unsustainable.
The situation worsened significantly after Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced the delisting of LINA, effective March 28. The news triggered an immediate 65% drop in LINA’s market capitalization, sharply depleting the project’s remaining operational runway.
“Our Operations Team will be in touch shortly with clear timelines and step-by-step instructions for users with active positions across our dApps,” the statement read.
Community Frustration Over Delisting Process
Linear Finance also took aim at Binance’s handling of the delisting. The team criticized what it called a lack of transparency in the exchange’s decision-making process. According to the statement, there had been no prior communication, vote, or warning issued before the announcement.
“There had been no vote, no warning, and zero transparency,” the team said, referring to Binance’s decision to remove LINA alongside other tokens including AERGO, AST, BURGER, and COMBO.
LINA has since dropped an additional 5% in the past 24 hours, despite a temporary 30% spike in trading volume, indicating heightened speculative activity in the wake of the announcement.
Broader Implications for DeFi
Linear Finance’s shutdown marks another blow to the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, which has seen several high-profile collapses and liquidity crises in recent months. It follows the recent forced delisting of JELLY on the Hyperliquid exchange due to a liquidity crunch.
In its final message, the Linear Finance team thanked its community and partners:
“We deeply appreciate your belief in the vision of Linear Finance and wish you every success in the future.”
As the DeFi space continues to mature, Linear Finance’s closure highlights the growing need for sustainable funding models, stronger community engagement, and transparent exchange governance to protect emerging projects and their users.
