Blockchain project Espresso Systems closed a $28 million Series B funding round led by a16z crypto.

After raising $30 million during a Series A round in 2022 and $2 million in seed funding in 2020, the latest round brings Espresso’s total funds to over $60 million. The firm did not disclose its latest valuation.

The round was opened for negotiation in early Q4 2023 and closed with a16z in early 2024, Espresso said. The project is currently in the process of closing with additional strategic investors.

Espresso is building a marketplace for shared sequencing, allowing rollups to auction the rights to build their blocks. According to Espresso, this setup facilitates interoperability among rollups and offers opportunities for various stakeholders, including Layer 1 block proposers (such …