Espresso

• Espresso provides shared sequencing and fast confirmations for rollups, without executing their transactions.

• Rollups using it get consistent ordering and can compose with each other in near real time.

• ESP secures the network through staking and pays for its services.

• Supply allocated across ecosystem, community and contributors.

• Staked to secure the HotShot consensus protocol.

Pros:

• Addresses cross-rollup composability, a real problem as chains proliferate.

• Confirmations arrive in seconds rather than waiting for Ethereum settlement.

• Does not execute transactions, so rollups keep their own execution environments.

Cons:

• Adoption requires rollups to give up control of their own sequencing, which many are reluctant to do.

• Shared sequencing remains a contested design direction among Layer 2 teams.

• Revenue depends entirely on rollups choosing to integrate.

• Exposure to the shared sequencing thesis for a fragmented Layer 2 landscape.

• Technically distinct from proving and settlement layers.

• Weigh that adoption requires rollups to surrender a revenue source.

• Sequencing and fast confirmation as a shared service, leaving execution entirely with each rollup.

• Rollups cannot compose with each other because each orders its own transactions independently.

• A shared sequencer gives them a consistent order without merging their execution.

• Founded by Ben Fisch, Benedikt Bünz and Jill Gunter.

• Backed by Electric Capital, Greylock and Sequoia.

• No public ICO. Distributed through ecosystem and community allocations.

• Rollups earn revenue from sequencing and are reluctant to outsource it.

• Shared sequencing may not become the prevailing model.

• Adoption is the entire business; without integrations there is no revenue.

• Competes with rollups building decentralised sequencing themselves.