a16z leads funding, blockchain project Espresso raises $28 million, mainnet to be launched by the end of the year

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Espresso Raises $28 Million in Funding

According to The Block, the blockchain project Espresso Systems has completed a $28 million Series B funding round led by a16z crypto.

Espresso raised $2 million in seed funding in 2020 and secured $30 million in Series A funding in 2022. With the Series B funding, the total funding now exceeds $60 million, although the official valuation has not been disclosed.

Espresso's Shared Block Sequencing Marketplace

Espresso is creating a shared block sequencing marketplace, a protocol that can generate sorted blocks for multiple L2s simultaneously, allowing L2s to sell shared sequencing rights to third-party bidders.

According to Espresso, this mechanism promotes interoperability between Rollups and provides an opportunity for various stakeholders, including L1 block proposers like Ethereum, to participate.

Espresso CEO Ben Fisch stated:

Anyone can participate in this market, including L1 block proposers and the L2s themselves. L2s that do not want to worry about block sequencing can fully rely on Espresso, believing that the value of creating blocks has been adequately compensated, while maintaining their autonomy.

Espresso also has a project for L2 data availability layer called Tiramisu.

DA Does Not Store Historical Data? Data Availability Does Not Equal Permanent Availability

Espresso will launch the fifth testnet, Cappuccino, in April, with the goal of releasing the mainnet by 2024.