$0.0926

The Espresso Network is a Layer 1 protocol designed to provide fast transaction finality and secure crosschain composability for rollups and app-specific chains. It functions as a decentralized consensus layer that confirms rollup blocks within seconds, ensuring consistent ordering and data availability, while not executing transactions itself. Its goal is to reduce fragmentation across blockchain platforms by enabling real-time communication between chains, which supports unified liquidity and seamless interoperability.

The network’s technology is based on original research, including the development of HotShot, a proof-of-stake consensus protocol derived from HotStuff, and verifiable information dispersal (VID) for scalable data availability. It currently processes over 5 MB/s of throughput with finality in seconds, with plans to increase to 25 MB/s and subsecond finality by 2026. When a rollup integrates with Espresso, its sequencer publishes blocks to the network, where validators use HotShot to confirm them and their transaction ordering quickly. A protocol rule ensures that only blocks confirmed by Espresso can settle on other Layer 1 chains, allowing other systems to act on real-time state without waiting for slower settlement.