# Get Started

The Espresso Network is a decentralized settlement layer for institutions and application developers building onchain financial systems. It is live on Mainnet 1, with Rari as the first integrated chain.

Choose the path that matches your goal:

***

## I'm evaluating Espresso for a new financial application

You want to understand whether Espresso is the right settlement infrastructure for a tokenized asset platform, payment network, stablecoin system, or other application-specific financial environment.

**What Espresso provides:** Dedicated execution environments where you define your own rules (fees, ordering, compliance, asset support) while settling through a decentralized Proof of Stake validator network, without sacrificing interoperability with Ethereum and other connected systems.

**First steps:**

1. [Contact Espresso](https://y3at7jy5knf.typeform.com/to/KgayxNsX?typeform-source=www.espressosys.com) to schedule an architecture review. The team will walk through your use case, infrastructure requirements, and integration path.
2. Before your call: [What is the Espresso Network?](/network/learn/use-cases.md) covers the institutional use cases Espresso is designed to support.
3. [Configurable Execution Environments](/network/learn/rollup-architecture.md) explains what you control vs. what Espresso provides.

***

## I'm integrating an existing chain with Espresso

You have an Arbitrum Orbit or OP Stack chain and want to add decentralized settlement and fast finality from Espresso.

**What Espresso provides:** Mainnet 1 finality in under three seconds, backed by a decentralized validator set. Espresso provides a kick-off call, devops assistance, async support, and 24/7 monitoring throughout the integration. A full integration runs through up to four stages: internal deployment → devnet → testnet (minimum 5–7 days clean run required) → mainnet.

**First steps:**

1. Review the prerequisites and integration timeline in the [Nitro / Orbit guide](/network/developer/rollup-developers/nitro.md) or [OP Stack guide](/network/developer/rollup-developers/op.md).
2. [Contact Espresso](https://y3at7jy5knf.typeform.com/to/KgayxNsX?typeform-source=www.espressosys.com) to schedule a kick-off call. Before the call, confirm your Arbitrum Nitro version and cloud provider TEE support.

**Time to integrate:** 3–4 days internal (optional) → 5–7 days testnet minimum before mainnet.

***

## I'm building an application on an Espresso-integrated chain

You're a developer building on Rari or another Espresso-integrated chain and want your users to see fast, trust-minimized transaction confirmations without waiting for L1 finality.

**What Espresso provides:** A Caff Node, a standard JSON-RPC endpoint that reflects Espresso-finalized state within seconds of block confirmation. No changes required to your existing application code or tooling.

**First steps:**

1. Read [Building Applications with Espresso](/network/learn/building-with-espresso.md) to understand the single-chain and cross-chain patterns.
2. Read [Reading from Espresso](/network/developer/dapp/read-from-network.md) for how Caff Nodes work and the available endpoints.
3. When ready to implement, follow the [Single-Chain App via Caff Node](/network/developer/dapp/create-single-chain-app.md) guide.

**Time to first response:** Under 5 minutes once pointed at a Caff Node endpoint.

***

## I want to stake or delegate ESP

You hold ESP tokens and want to participate in securing the Espresso Network and earn staking rewards.

**What you get:** ESP rewards distributed proportionally to validators and their delegators each epoch. Minimum delegation is 1 ESP. Delegations become active two epochs after being finalized on Ethereum.

**First steps:**

1. Go to [stake.espresso.network](https://stake.espresso.network/) to delegate to a validator of your choice.
2. For reward mechanics and epoch timing, see [Staking Rewards Calculation](/network/developer/the-espresso-network/stake-table/staking-rewards-calculation.md).
3. For a full walkthrough, see [Delegate $ESP](/network/network/delegation-ui.md).

**Time to delegate:** Under 5 minutes.


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