Shared sequencers are not just MEV tools. They are the foundational coordination layer for a new cross-chain architecture, moving beyond isolated rollup-centric designs. This shift enables a single, global execution environment.
cross-chain-future-bridges-and-interoperability
Blog
Shared Sequencers Are a Prelude to Universal Cross-Chain Execution
Rollups sharing a sequencing layer is not just about decentralization. It's the foundational step for a coordinated, intent-driven execution environment that renders today's atomic bridges obsolete.
introduction
THE FOUNDATION
Introduction
Shared sequencers are the critical infrastructure enabling a unified, intent-driven execution layer across all blockchains.
The current multi-chain reality is a coordination failure. Users and assets are trapped in fragmented liquidity pools across Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, forcing reliance on slow, trust-heavy bridges like Across or Stargate. This creates systemic inefficiency.
A shared sequencer network aggregates intent. It acts as a global order flow coordinator, similar to UniswapX or CowSwap but operating at the protocol level. This allows for atomic cross-chain execution that existing bridges cannot achieve.
Evidence: The demand is proven. Over 60% of DeFi's TVL is now on L2s, yet cross-chain volume remains a fraction of on-chain volume, highlighting the latent demand for seamless execution that shared sequencers unlock.
key-trends
FROM FRAGMENTATION TO FLOW
Executive Summary
Shared sequencers are not the endgame; they are the critical infrastructure enabling a universal, intent-driven execution layer across all blockchains.
01
The Problem: Isolated Rollup Silos
Today's rollups operate as independent fiefdoms, each with its own sequencer creating a fragmented liquidity and user experience. This forces users to manually bridge assets and navigate disparate ecosystems, creating massive UX friction and capital inefficiency.
- Liquidity is trapped in individual chains, reducing capital efficiency.
- User experience is broken by constant chain-switching and bridging delays.
- Security models diverge, creating inconsistent trust assumptions for cross-chain actions.
100+
Isolated Chains
~5 min
Avg. Bridge Delay
02
The Solution: Neutral, Cross-Chain Sequencing
A shared sequencer acts as a decentralized, protocol-agnostic ordering layer for multiple rollups. By providing a single source of truth for transaction ordering across chains, it enables atomic composability and unlocks seamless cross-rollup user experiences.
- Enables atomic cross-rollup transactions (e.g., swap on Arbitrum, deposit on Base in one click).
- Unlocks shared liquidity by treating multiple L2s as a single execution environment.
- Decouples sequencing from execution, preventing miner extractable value (MEV) abuse by a single chain operator.
~500ms
Cross-Chain Latency
0
Manual Bridges
03
The Catalyst: Intent-Based Architectures
Shared sequencing is the prerequisite for intent-centric protocols like UniswapX and CowSwap to operate at a universal scale. Users submit declarative goals ("get the best price for X token"), and a solver network executes across the most optimal routes, abstracting away the underlying chain entirely.
- Abstracts chain awareness from the end-user.
- Optimizes for best execution across all connected liquidity venues (L1, L2, L3).
- Creates a competitive solver market, driving efficiency and better prices.
20-30%
Better Price Execution
1
User Signature
04
The Endgame: Universal Settlement
The logical conclusion is a cross-chain execution layer where the shared sequencer's ordering becomes the canonical input for a decentralized prover network. This creates a unified settlement guarantee for all connected chains, akin to a global "Ethereum Supreme Court" for state transitions.
- Unifies security under a single cryptographic proof system (e.g., based on EigenLayer).
- Reduces trust assumptions compared to current bridging models like LayerZero or Across.
- Turns all connected chains into a single, programmable supercomputer with localized execution.
1
Unified Security Layer
$10B+
Secured Value
thesis-statement
THE ARCHITECTURAL EVOLUTION
The Core Thesis: From Shared Ordering to Shared State
Shared sequencers are the first step in a broader architectural shift from isolated chain execution to a unified, composable state layer.
Shared sequencers standardize ordering across rollups, creating a canonical transaction timeline. This solves the atomic composability problem for L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism, enabling cross-rollup MEV capture and unified liquidity pools without slow bridges.
The logical endpoint is shared state. A global sequencer network, like Espresso or Astria, evolves into a coordinated execution layer. This allows smart contracts to read and write across any connected chain, moving beyond simple bridging to true atomic cross-chain logic.
This renders today's bridges obsolete. Protocols like Across and LayerZero are application-specific adapters. A shared state layer provides a universal primitive, similar to how TCP/IP replaced point-to-point leased lines for internet communication.
Evidence: Espresso's HotShot sequencer already demonstrates this by providing fast finality to multiple rollups, proving the demand for a shared sequencing base layer that rollup teams are opting into rather than building themselves.
market-context
THE EXECUTION LAYER
The Bridge Problem Isn't Security, It's Coordination
Shared sequencers solve the atomic composability problem that plagues existing bridges like LayerZero and Across.
Atomic composability is the bottleneck. Bridges like LayerZero and Across move assets, but they cannot natively execute interdependent logic across chains. This forces protocols to build complex, fragile relayers or rely on slow optimistic assumptions for cross-chain actions.
Shared sequencers pre-commit to ordering. A network like Espresso or Astria provides a canonical, verifiable ordering of transactions before they hit any chain. This creates a universal mempool where cross-chain intents are resolved atomically, eliminating race conditions and MEV leakage.
This is the substrate for universal execution. With a shared sequencer, a user's swap on UniswapX can atomically trigger a borrow on Aave on another chain. The sequencer becomes the coordination layer, reducing bridges to simple, verifiable state attestation networks.
Evidence: Espresso's testnet processes batches for multiple rollups, proving the shared sequencing model works. The economic security shifts from individual bridge validators to the sequencer set, which is secured by the cumulative value of all connected chains.
FROM FRAGMENTED BRIDGES TO UNIVERSAL EXECUTION
The Evolution of Cross-Chain Coordination
Comparing the architectural paradigms for moving value and state between blockchains, from isolated bridges to shared sequencers as a coordination primitive.
| Core Metric / Capability | Classic Atomic Bridge (e.g., Across, LayerZero) | Intent-Based Solver Network (e.g., UniswapX, CowSwap) | Shared Sequencer Network (e.g., Espresso, Astria, Radius) |
|---|---|---|---|
Primary Abstraction | Asset Transfer | User Intent Fulfillment | Block Space & Execution |
Coordination Layer | Destination Chain | Off-Chain Solver Auction | Decentralized Sequencer Set |
Cross-Chain Atomicity Guarantee | Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs) | Solver Bond & Reputation | Sequencer Commitment & Fraud Proofs |
Typical Finality Latency | 5-30 minutes | 1-5 minutes | < 1 second (for sequencing) |
Max Extractable Value (MEV) Surface | High (frontrunning on destination) | Low (solver competition internalizes MEV) | Controlled (sequencer-level ordering & PBS) |
Supports Generalized Cross-Chain Messages | |||
Requires Native Gas on Destination Chain | |||
Key Innovation | Trust-minimized custody | Economic efficiency via competition | Temporal sovereignty & execution portability |
deep-dive
THE ORCHESTRATION
How a Shared Sequencer Becomes a Cross-Chain Conductor
A shared sequencer is the foundational infrastructure for coordinating atomic execution across disparate rollups and L1s.
Shared sequencing is cross-chain pre-confirmation. A sequencer that orders transactions for multiple rollups creates a unified mempool. This shared state enables atomic composability across chains before blocks are finalized, solving the fragmented liquidity problem inherent to isolated rollups.
The sequencer becomes a settlement hub. It does not just order; it coordinates cross-chain intent resolution. Users submit intents (e.g., swap X on Arbitrum for Y on Optimism), and the sequencer's solver network executes the optimal route via Across, Stargate, or layerzero atomically.
This architecture inverts the bridge model. Instead of post-hoc bridging of assets, execution is orchestrated pre-settlement. Protocols like UniswapX and CowSwap demonstrate the demand for this intent-based, MEV-resistant flow, which a shared sequencer generalizes.
Evidence: Espresso's testnet coordinates 10+ chains. Shared sequencer testnets prove the technical viability of cross-rollup atomic bundles, creating a single liquidity layer from fragmented execution environments.
protocol-spotlight
SHARED SEQUENCERS
Architects of the New Layer: Espresso, Astria, and Beyond
Shared sequencers are not just for scaling—they are the foundational coordination layer for a new, unified execution environment.
01
Espresso: The Decentralized Sequencer for L2 Sovereignty
Espresso provides a decentralized, proof-of-stake sequencer network that rollups can plug into, solving the centralization and liveness risks of single-operator sequencers.\n- Sovereignty Guaranteed: Rollups retain control over execution and settlement, using Espresso only for ordering.\n- HotSwap Ready: Rollups can dynamically switch between Espresso and their own sequencer for maximum liveness.\n- Shared Liquidity: Enables fast, trust-minimized cross-rollup communication via its shared sequencing layer.
100+
Validators
~2s
Finality
02
Astria: The Shared Sequencer as a Commodity
Astria abstracts sequencing into a bare-metal, decentralized network, allowing rollups to launch with a production-ready sequencer in minutes.\n- Commoditized Stack: Offers sequencing, block building, and data availability (via Celestia) as modular services.\n- Atomic Composability: Enables synchronous cross-rollup transactions within the same shared block, a precursor to universal state.\n- MEV Resistance: Native integration with mechanisms like time-boost auctions to democratize block building.
0
Ops Overhead
<1s
Block Time
03
The Problem: Rollups as Fragmented, Inefficient Kingdoms
Today, every rollup runs its own sequencer, creating massive redundancy, centralization pressure, and isolated liquidity pools.\n- Capital Inefficiency: Billions in TVL sit idle, unable to be used as collateral or liquidity across chains.\n- Fragmented UX: Users and apps must bridge assets and state, a slow and risky process.\n- Security Overhead: Each sequencer is a unique, costly attack surface to secure and decentralize.
$10B+
Idle Capital
10-30min
Bridge Delay
04
The Solution: A Universal Cross-Chain Execution Layer
A robust shared sequencer network is the prerequisite for a single, globally accessible execution environment.\n- Atomic Cross-Chain Actions: Enables complex transactions (e.g., trade on Arbitrum, borrow on Base, mint on zkSync) in one atomic bundle.\n- Unified Liquidity Pools: Turns every rollup into a shard of one giant liquidity pool, akin to a global order book.\n- The End of Bridging: Transitions the paradigm from asset bridging to intent-based, cross-chain execution powered by solvers (like UniswapX and CowSwap).
100x
More Efficient
0
Trusted Bridges
05
Beyond Ordering: Shared Provers & Enshrined Rollups
The logical endpoint is a full separation of concerns: shared sequencing, shared proving, and shared settlement.\n- Shared Prover Networks: Projects like Succinct and GeVulcan point to a future where ZK proof generation is a commoditized service.\n- Enshrined Rollups: Ethereum's roadmap (EIP-4844, PBS) suggests a future where sequencing and proving are native protocol functions.\n- The True Modular Stack: Execution, Ordering, Proving, and Data Availability become independent, competitive markets.
-90%
Proving Cost
L1 Native
Security
06
The New Battlefield: Sequencing Rights and MEV
Control over transaction ordering is control over billions in extractable value. The fight shifts from L1 blockspace to the sequencing layer.\n- MEV Redistribution: Shared sequencers like Astria and Espresso bake in fair ordering to redistribute value to users and rollups.\n- Validator Economics: Sequencer staking becomes a core yield source, competing with L1 staking and DeFi.\n- Protocol Capture Risk: The entity controlling the dominant sequencer network holds immense power, demanding robust decentralization.
$1B+
Annual MEV
Critical
Decentralization
counter-argument
THE ARCHITECTURAL EVOLUTION
The Centralization Counter-Argument (And Why It's Wrong)
Shared sequencers are not a regression to centralization but a necessary architectural step toward a universal execution layer.
Shared sequencers centralize ordering to solve the atomic cross-chain execution problem. A single, verifiable ordering source is the prerequisite for composable cross-rollup transactions that protocols like UniswapX and CowSwap require.
This is a temporary centralization of sequencing, not validation. The finality and security of L2 states remain decentralized via Ethereum. This is identical to the trusted relay model used by optimistic bridges like Across, which succeeded by optimizing for liveness.
The end-state is a competitive marketplace of decentralized sequencer sets. Protocols like Espresso and Astria are building this now. The shared sequencer is the bootstrapping mechanism that creates the demand and standards for this future market.
Evidence: The modular stack (Celestia, EigenDA) proves that decomposing monolithic functions (data availability, sequencing) into competitive markets increases, not decreases, systemic resilience and decentralization over time.
risk-analysis
SHARED SEQUENCER PITFALLS
Execution Risks: What Could Derail This Future?
The path to a universal cross-chain execution layer is paved with critical technical and economic vulnerabilities that must be solved.
01
The Centralized Bottleneck Problem
A single, dominant shared sequencer set (e.g., Espresso, Astria) becomes a de facto L1, reintroducing the censorship and single-point-of-failure risks rollups were meant to solve.\n- Economic Capture: The sequencer set can extract MEV and prioritize its own rollups.\n- Liveness Risk: A bug or attack on the sequencer halts hundreds of rollups and $10B+ TVL.
1
Critical Failure Point
100%
Rollup Downtime
02
Cross-Chain MEV Cartels
Shared sequencers with visibility across multiple chains create the perfect environment for sophisticated, cross-domain MEV extraction that dwarfs today's single-chain strategies.\n- Arbitrage Supremacy: Bots can front-run bundles across UniswapX, Curve, and Aave on different rollups atomically.\n- User Exploitation: The economic model incentivizes sequencers to sell order flow or embed proprietary trading, negating promised benefits.
$1B+
Extractable Value
0%
User Savings
03
The Interoperability Fragmentation Trap
Competing shared sequencer networks (e.g., EigenLayer, AltLayer, Near DA) create new silos, fracturing liquidity and composability rather than unifying it.\n- Protocol Duplication: Apps must deploy on multiple sequencer ecosystems, increasing overhead.\n- Bridge Dependence Returns: Communication between sequencer domains still requires trusted bridges like LayerZero or Axelar, reintracting security assumptions.
N+1
New Silos
-50%
Composability
04
Data Availability as a Choke Point
Shared sequencers must post data somewhere. Relying on a single DA layer (e.g., EigenDA, Celestia) creates systemic risk; using multiple adds latency and cost complexity.\n- Cost Spiral: DA costs are variable and could negate sequencer efficiency gains during congestion.\n- Settlement Finality Delays: Proofs must wait for DA finality, adding ~2-10 minute delays to cross-chain execution.
2-10 min
Added Latency
100x
Cost Volatility
05
The L1 Sovereignty Backlash
Base-layer protocols (e.g., Ethereum, Solana) will resist ceding execution and fee revenue to a third-party sequencer network, leading to political and technical conflict.\n- Fork Resistance: L1s may hard-fork to reclaim sequencing rights or impose taxes.\n- Vendor Lock-in: Rollups become dependent on an external sequencer's governance, undermining their own sovereignty.
High
Coordination Failure
0
L1 Incentive Alignment
06
Security Model Erosion
Decoupling sequencing from settlement and DA fractures the security model. Fraud or validity proofs must now account for a potentially malicious or faulty intermediary sequencer.\n- Proof Complexity: ZK proofs must verify sequencer inclusion, bloating circuits.\n- Weak Crypto-Economics: Slashing for sequencer misbehavior is difficult to enforce across chains, reducing security to soft commitments.
Soft
Security Guarantees
10x
Proof Cost
future-outlook
THE EXECUTION LAYER
The 24-Month Outlook: A New Primitive Emerges
Shared sequencers will evolve from a scaling tool into the foundation for universal cross-chain execution.
Shared sequencers are execution engines. Today's models like Espresso and Astria focus on L2 ordering. Their real value is creating a neutral, verifiable compute layer that processes intents across any chain, not just one rollup.
This abstracts away chain boundaries. Users submit intents to a shared sequencer network, which atomically coordinates execution across Ethereum, Solana, and Cosmos. This is the logical endpoint of the intent-centric architectures pioneered by UniswapX and Across.
It commoditizes block space. Execution becomes a fungible resource. A rollup's value shifts from its isolated sequencer revenue to its integration with this universal network, similar to how LayerZero connects sovereign VMs.
Evidence: Espresso's integration with Polygon CDK and Arbitrum Orbit stacks demonstrates the path. The endpoint is a network that settles to multiple L1s simultaneously, making today's bridging protocols like Stargate middleware.
takeaways
SHARED SEQUENCERS
TL;DR for Builders and Investors
Shared sequencers are not the endgame; they are the critical infrastructure enabling the next paradigm: universal cross-chain execution.
01
The Problem: Isolated Rollup Liquidity
Rollups create fast, cheap blockspace but fragment liquidity and user experience. A user on Arbitrum cannot natively interact with an app on Optimism without slow, expensive bridges.
- Capital inefficiency with $10B+ TVL locked in silos.
- Poor UX from multi-step, multi-wallet bridging.
- Developer friction in building cross-chain applications.
$10B+
Fragmented TVL
2-20 min
Bridge Latency
02
The Solution: Shared Sequencer as Cross-Chain Coordinator
A shared sequencer (e.g., Espresso, Astria, Radius) provides a neutral, high-throughput ordering layer. This is the prerequisite for atomic cross-chain execution.
- Atomic composability enables transactions that span multiple rollups.
- MEV capture & redistribution via a unified auction.
- Fast pre-confirmations with ~500ms latency for cross-chain intents.
~500ms
Pre-confirm
Atomic
Composability
03
The Endgame: Universal Settlement via Intents
Shared sequencing enables intent-based architectures (like UniswapX or CowSwap) to operate cross-chain. Users submit desired outcomes, and a solver network executes optimally across all connected rollups.
- Best execution across fragmented liquidity pools.
- Abstraction of chain boundaries for end-users.
- Convergence point for Across, LayerZero, and Chainlink CCIP.
Intent-Based
Paradigm
Universal
Settlement
04
Investment Thesis: Owning the Cross-Chain Highway
The entity that operates the dominant shared sequencer captures the economic value of inter-rollup communication. This is a higher-value layer than individual rollup sequencing.
- Fee capture from all cross-chain activity.
- Strategic control over the interoperability stack.
- Natural monopoly dynamics due to network effects and liquidity aggregation.
Fee Capture
Business Model
Network Effects
Moat
05
Builder Mandate: Design for Atomic Cross-Chain State
Applications must be architected to leverage atomic updates across multiple rollups. This requires a shift from single-chain smart contracts to cross-chain state machines.
- New primitives for cross-chain conditional logic.
- Security model reliant on sequencer decentralization and fraud proofs.
- Coordination with solvers and intent networks.
New Primitives
Required
Cross-Chain
State Machine
06
The Centralization Risk & The Path to Decentralization
Initial shared sequencers will be permissioned. Long-term viability requires robust decentralization via proof-of-stake validation, DVT (Distributed Validator Technology), and enforceable slashing.
- Single point of failure risk in early stages.
- Decentralization roadmap is non-negotiable for credible neutrality.
- Alignment with EigenLayer restaking for cryptoeconomic security.
PoS + DVT
Solution
EigenLayer
Alignment
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