Linea Whales Trigger Price Crash as Airdrop Tokens Unleash Massive Sell Pressure

Whale-sized sell orders hammer Linea's token value mere hours after airdrop distribution—classic crypto generosity meets instant profit-taking.

The Dump Heard 'Round DeFi

Major holders didn't just dip toes—they plunged full-bodied into selling waves. Tokens hit exchanges faster than you can say 'decentralization,' flooding order books and slicing through support levels like a hot knife through butter.

Market Mechanics Exposed

Liquidity pools got drained quicker than a Vegas slot machine on payout day. Retail traders—bless their hopeful hearts—got left holding bags while the big players cashed out their 'free' money. The entire episode screams crypto's eternal truth: airdrops aren't charity—they're volatility injections wrapped in marketing.

Zero-sum games never looked so generous on paper—until someone actually tries to spend the paper.

The LINEA token launched after months of waiting, as the network wanted to avoid releasing the asset during a bear market. However, this did not save the asset from the initial slump. As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, the airdrop happened on a day when Linea briefly stopped producing blocks due to a problem with its centralized sequencer.

Whales sell off LINEA token

As with other airdrops, LINEA fell after the initial selling from top recipients. While airdrop tokens can recover, the initial price shock is seen as a negative for projects. 

LINEA token is still mostly trading on centralized markets, but some whales are cashing out through its DEX pairs. The airdrop is starting to create some disappointment, after some of the early point farmers had to wait up to two years for the actual airdrop. 

For now, the biggest trader has cashed out around $225K through the Etherex market. Selling LINEA remains unpredictable, though on-chain analysis shows the asset is clustered in the hands of top recipients. 

Centralization in all its glory.

Consensys = 70.8 mln $linea
Izumi Finance = 252.6 mln $linea
Cluster 0x2420 + 0xf61e = 112.9 mln $Linea
Cluster 0xd820 + 0xdc85 = 24 mln $linea
Cluster 0x41bc + 0xbdde = 16.8 mln $linea
Cluster 0x9CBF + 0x139c = 8.2 mln $linea
Cluster 0x0C88 +… pic.twitter.com/ZvIsopZ3Ay

— Andrew 10 GWEI (@Andrey_10gwei) September 8, 2025

Currently, there is enough LINEA supply for selling pressure. The token is also directly heading into daily linear unlocks, suggesting price discovery may bring the asset to a lower range. The LINEA launch with a small free float resembles previous TGE, where the asset faced selling pressure over the years. 

LINEA token sees limited buying on opening day

Even after a dip to a lower range, LINEA saw relatively limited buying volumes. The new token still mostly relies on spot trading. The chain carried around 49K daily active users after the airdrop, enough to MOVE tokens for selling. Additionally, some of the airdrops have happened through exchange tokens, accelerating the crash. 

LINEA holders can also keep selling until a much lower range before buying resumes. Currently, demand for LINEA tokens may be limited, as the L2 chain still grows its ecosystem. However, the presence of a native token boosted the chain’s DeFi with more trading demand. 

Linea now carries a record $1.36B in value locked when accounting for the new native token’s value. Formerly, the L2 chain had a relatively small DeFi sector, with under $200M in value. 

Currently, Linea carries around 1% of the market share of all L2 chains. The economic activity on those chains accelerated in the past months, but was concentrated on Arbitrum and Base. 

Linea was shortly competing with the top chains, during its most active point farming season. After the airdrop, Linea is back on the map among L2 chains based on value secured.

Your crypto news deserves attention - KEY Difference Wire puts you on 250+ top sites