Espresso Unveils ESP Token With 10% Airdrop Amid Layer-2 Feud

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Finance

What to know:

  • The Espresso Network, having dabbed its toes in the pond of permissioned ledgers, now strides forward as a permissionless proof-of-stake blockchain with the ESP token, inviting any passerby with a ‟stake” to contribute to security and to share in a community airdrop amounting to 10% of the total supply.
  • The moment is precisely timed with the ESP token’s debut, a tool for staking, securing the network, and participating in protocol matters. The Espresso Foundation proclaims a total supply of 3.59 billion ESP, with 10% set aside for a fully unlocked community airdrop aimed at early ecosystem participants and users of Espresso-integrated rollups.

The Espresso Network, ever the social climber, has officially moved from the hush of permissioned corridors to the public drawing room of a permissionless proof-of-stake blockchain, bringing forth the ESP token and a 10% community airdrop.

The move coincides with the ESP token’s public debut, a modest little instrument for staking, securing the network, and inviting participation in the good works of the protocol. The Espresso Foundation maintains a total supply of 3.59 billion ESP, with 10% earmarked for an unlocked community airdrop destined for early participants and users of Espresso-integrated rollups.

“There were various ways of determining who was eligible,” professed Espresso Systems CEO and co‑founder Ben Fisch, with the air of a man describing the weather to a parson. “The aim is to circulate the token among our extended circle, while rewarding those who showed up early to the party.”

The foundation notes further allocations for contributors, investors, future ecosystem incentives and long‑term sustainability, most of which are subject to vesting, because nothing says “public service” like a little equity lock-in.

Espresso exists as a coordination and finality layer for rollups-a discreet chaperone rather than a raucous rival to the execution environment. Fisch emphasizes it is designed to aid layer‑2 blockchains, not to hobble them on the dance floor of the execution layer.

“Layer-2s need only one thing from a layer-1, which is finality,” said Fisch. “How well a layer-1 services a layer-2 is measured by two things: the security it provides and the speed with which it can deliver finality.”

“Unlike Ethereum, or any other existing layer‑1s, Espresso is crafted for layer‑2s,” he added, with the restrained zeal of a man who has found the perfect umbrella for a rainy season.

At present, Espresso finalizes rollup blocks in roughly six seconds on average, a marked contrast to Ethereum’s dozen-minute-or-so window for finality. Fisch contends this chasm is a structural bottleneck, as applications and liquidity drift across several rollups rather than clinging to a single chain.

“Fast finality isn’t a luxury for rollups,” he mused. “It is the missing piece that can turn a constellation of isolated chains into a single, coherent, and generally more agreeable ecosystem.”

The launch arrives amid a broader Ethereum discussion about the future role of layer‑2 networks, spurred by Vitalik Buterin’s remarks suggesting the base layer might eventually lessen its reliance on rollups if improvements to Ethereum’s core were to render them less indispensable.

That debate has raised questions about whether layer‑2 networks are merely appendages of Ethereum or independent blockchains in their own right, and whether infrastructure primarily built to scale Ethereum will retain its relevance as the base layer becomes faster and cheaper.

As Ethereum’s grand scaling philosophy faces renewed scrutiny, Espresso bets that demand for application-specific rollups-especially from institutions and consumer platforms-will endure, irrespective of Ethereum’s roadmap.

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2026-02-12 15:09