Espresso Raises $28M in Series B Funding: Details

Espresso, a pioneering player in the burgeoning field of “shared sequencing” within the blockchain sector, has secured $28 million in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Crypto, as disclosed in a press release.

The investment round, finalized in February, marks a significant milestone for Espresso, with the infusion of funds earmarked for further product development, bolstering the broader rollup ecosystem, and expanding the team.

As reported earlier by TheCoinRise, Bitcoin rose to a new all-time high which turned investors bullish and now, they are once again heavily investing in the digital asset sector after witnessing the bearish 2022 crypto price crash. 

Investors in Espresso

Polygon Labs, a prominent Layer-2 firm, also participated in the funding round, as confirmed by a spokesperson for Espresso. 

Notable investors include layer-2 developers StarkWare and Taiko, with Offchain Labs, the principal developer behind Arbitrum, a major layer-2 network, backing Espresso, as communicated in a post by CEO Steven Goldfeder on X.

Role of Sequencers

Notably, in blockchain technology, sequencers play a pivotal role in verifying and aggregating transactions executed on layer-2 blockchains before transmitting them back to a layer 1 chain like Ethereum for final settlement. 

However, the prevailing critique of sequencers centers on centralization concerns, often linked to a single operator, which pose risks such as network censorship and single points of failure.

Espresso and its Shared Sequencer Model

Espresso and its innovative shared sequencer model, leveraging a separate, permissionless network of nodes, aims to mitigate these concerns. 

The company has previously showcased proof-of-concept integrations with Polygon’s zkEVM stack and Optimism’s OP Stack, both on testnet environments.

Ben Fisch, CEO of Espresso Systems, emphasized the significance of shared sequencing, stating in an email interview with CoinDesk, 

“Rollups have enriched the greater Ethereum ecosystem with horizontal scalability and a diversity of execution environments, but at the expense of fragmentation.”

Beyond the Core Product

Beyond its core product, Espresso is developing a marketplace for shared sequencing, where rollups can auction the rights to build their blocks to proposers, fostering a competitive environment. Additionally, proposers can bid on multiple rollup blocks, serving as a shared proposer for multiple chains simultaneously.

Currently, Espresso is on its fifth iteration of testnet, with plans to launch on mainnet later this year. This substantial funding injection underscores growing investor confidence in Espresso’s vision and technological prowess within the evolving blockchain landscape.