What is Linear Finance?

Linear Finance, represented by the LINA token, is a decentralized protocol that strives to facilitate the creation of synthetic assets with ample liquidity. This protocol aims to bring traditional assets like commodities, forex, and market indices to cryptocurrency users through the creation of "Liquids" - Linear's synthetic asset tokens. LINA, an ERC-20 token built on the Ethereum network, serves as collateral for Liquids and also enables community governance of the protocol. Linear Finance's primary objective is to aim to improve user experience by leveraging the cross-chain capabilities of the protocol for better scalability and speed.

How does Linear Finance work?

Linear Finance operates through a variety of products, including Linear.Buildr, a decentralized application (DApp) used to manage Liquids using LINA and other tokens as collateral. The protocol allows users to access other supported chains and transfer assets to them, thereby enabling exposure to traditional assets like forex and commodities. LINA tokens serve as the base collateral to mint Liquids, but users can also use other digital assets like ETH and wBTC to cover a portion of this base collateral. The Linear Exchange aims to provide ample liquidity for Liquids and seeks to reduce the settlement timeframe, potentially making it suitable for high-frequency traders and algorithmic trading software.

What are the potential use cases for Linear Finance?

Linear Finance strives to provide a simple solution for users seeking exposure to traditional assets while still benefiting from the features enabled by blockchain technology. The protocol's cross-chain approach helps reduce fees and solve the oracle front-running issue that can occur with some existing protocols on Ethereum. In the future, Linear Finance users will be able to access synthetic traditional assets and potentially equities. The protocol also proposes a unique liquidation mechanism, which will be decided based on community governance. LINA holders can vote on transaction fees, insurance fund allocations, and other options, thereby shaping the development of the Linear ecosystem.

What is the history of Linear Finance?

Linear Finance was co-founded by Drey Ng and Kevin Tai. Drey Ng is the co-founder and current chief product officer of Liquefy, a platform that offers access to tokenized securities, and has several years of experience in the fintech industry. Kevin Tai, a Harvard Business School graduate, was the vice president of Credit Suisse in Hong Kong. Linear Finance received $1.8 million in initial funding from seed contributors and launched its token, LINA, in September 2020. The total supply of LINA is currently 10 billion tokens, with a system in place to manage supply until a terminal floor is reached.