Espresso Systems is building a decentralized base layer designed to improve Layer-2 rollups, mainly by boosting interoperability and performance. The idea is to make cross-chain composability easier and reduce dependence on centralized sequencers.
So far, the project has raised around $60 million in funding and is backed by well-known names like Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, and Polygon. However, from what I understand, most of this funding is in the form of equity investment, not direct token investment — which is an important point to keep in mind.
Looking at the tokenomics, the initial supply is about 3.59 billion $ESP tokens, and there is no fixed maximum supply. New tokens will be issued over time through staking rewards and incentive programs, similar to other proof-of-stake inflation models. For the token to hold value long term, protocol fees would need to grow faster than token emissions.
At the current pre-market price of around $0.07, the fully diluted valuation comes out to roughly $300 million.
In the short term, I expect some downside pressure due to airdrop selling and general market conditions. But over the long term, a steady rise could be possible if rollups adopt Espresso’s technology at scale.
This is just my personal view — make sure to do your own research and only invest what you can afford to lose.
