Luganodes X Espresso: Enabling Decentralized Sequencing

Introduction

Luganodes is excited to announce our partnership with Espresso, a cutting-edge protocol that redefines coordinated block building for a decentralized future. Having played an important role in Espresso’s Decaf testnet, Luganodes is now proud to be an operator on Espresso's mainnet, reinforcing our commitment to advancing decentralized blockchain ecosystems.

What is Espresso?

Espresso addresses a key challenge in the blockchain space: the centralization of sequencers. While Layer 2 rollups have advanced Ethereum scaling, many depend on centralized sequencers, which create points of security failure, threats of transaction censorship and MEV extraction. Espresso’s mission is to decentralize this component, fostering credible neutrality, enhancing cross-chain composability, and aligning economic incentives across networks.

With its unique network architecture, Espresso allows blockchains to operate in unison, preserving the openness and composability that make decentralized systems so powerful. It provides fast, economically-secured preconfirmations, enabling efficient cross-chain bridging and supporting the Espresso Marketplace for coordinated block building. This marketplace allows chains to sell transaction ordering rights to specialized block builders, creating a cohesive ecosystem where chains, developers, and users alike enjoy a seamless and interoperable experience without sacrificing sovereignty, scalability, or security.

Espresso’s approach to achieving this lies in two core components: HotShot, a consensus protocol, and Tiramisu, a robust data availability solution. Together, they offer fast finality, enhancing transaction security beyond traditional L1 capabilities, while avoiding the pitfalls of centralized preconfirmations.

Espresso Network: HotShot

HotShot serves as the core consensus mechanism underpinning the Espresso Network. Unlike existing centralized sequencers, HotShot leverages a proof-of-stake protocol that ensures high throughput and rapid finality. It separates transaction ordering and availability from execution, optimizing network performance without sacrificing decentralization. This allows rollups to maintain speed and efficiency while decentralizing the sequencing process, mitigating risks such as monopolistic MEV extraction and transaction censorship.

Espresso DA: Tiramisu

Tiramisu complements HotShot with a multi-layered data availability system that balances performance and resilience. By utilizing Verifiable Information Dispersal (VID), Espresso ensures that all transaction data is widely disseminated across nodes, preventing bottlenecks and vulnerabilities associated with centralized DA solutions. This architecture enables fast data retrieval through small DA committees while maintaining a robust fallback layer that guarantees data availability even in adversarial conditions.

Tiramisu’s design not only secures data availability but also reduces reliance on costly L1 postings, positioning it as a cost-effective alternative that preserves the decentralized ethos of blockchain technology.

Luganodes X Espresso

Luganodes has been an integral participant in Espresso’s evolution, contributing to the testnet phase—Decaf—and now stepping up as a mainnet operator. This transition signifies our dedication to supporting cutting-edge blockchain technologies that align with our mission of delivering non-custodial, institutional-grade staking and infrastructure solutions. Operating on the Espresso mainnet allows us to expand our capabilities in offering the blockchain community greater security, interoperability, and efficiency.

Conclusion

The Luganodes-Espresso partnership is a testament to our shared vision of decentralized, scalable blockchain infrastructure. With Espresso, Luganodes is poised to leverage its infrastructure expertise to enhance the reliability and performance of blockchain ecosystems. This collaboration sets the stage for future innovations in cross-chain coordination and decentralized sequencing, paving the way for a more resilient and interconnected blockchain landscape.

About Luganodes

Luganodes is a world-class, Swiss-operated, non-custodial blockchain infrastructure provider that has rapidly gained recognition in the industry for offering institutional-grade services. It was born out of the Lugano Plan B Program, an initiative driven by Tether and the City of Lugano. Luganodes maintains an exceptional 99.9% uptime with round-the-clock monitoring by SRE experts. With support for 45+ PoS networks, it ranks among the top validators on Polygon, Polkadot, Sui, and Tron. Luganodes prioritizes security and compliance, holding the distinction of being one of the first staking providers to adhere to all SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and ISO 27001 standards as well as offering Chainproof insurance to institutional clients.