The Espresso Token Launch has officially made it to the limelight with the start of trading of $ESP in major exchanges, and this is a major milestone for the blockchain infrastructure project. Listed on MEXC Innovation Zone and KuCoin (SPOT), an active 75,000 USDT Airdrop+ campaign and increased staking rewards, the crypto ecosystem is experiencing a good early response.
Key Highlights
Dual Exchange Debut: on MEXC (11:00 UTC) and KuCoin (13:00 UTC), February 12, 2026.
75,000 USDT Airdrop+: MEXC is introducing a reward pool and exclusive APR bonuses of 300% to new users.
High Volatility Expected: Sharpe price movements around $0.077 could occur in the future, with a fully unlocked community airdrop and Innovation Zone listing.
The actual token launch today, February 12, 2026, and the trading pairs will be launched on the centralized exchanges.
This Token Generation Event (TGE) is one of the most awaited infrastructure-related releases of the year because Systems just released its mainnet and airdropped tokens to more than 1 million addresses in its espresso testnet airdrop.
It brings a decentralized shared sequencing layer, which provides Ethereum rollups with fast, BFT-secured confirmations to enhance cross-chain composability and scalability.

Source: Official X
Listing of MEXC Innovation Zone and Kucoin
Trading starts on MEXC: Feb 12, 2026, 11:00 UTC
Trading Starts on KuCoin: Feb 12, 2026, 13:00 UTC
Market Type: Spot
Zone: Innovation Zone
Event: ESP Airdrop+ Campaign (75,000 USDT pool)
New User Earn Boost: Up to 300% APR
MEXC increased its listing time, which allowed instant deposits. The listings of the Innovation Zone are characterized by high volatility because of the initial speculative trading. KuCoin listing offers increased global exposure and conventional price discovery in the order book.
Source: X
The Espresso tokenomics is important to understand to assess the behavior in the initial market.
Initial Supply: 3.59 billion Tokens
Max Supply: There is no limit (staking over time)
Allocations:
27.36% Contributors
14.32% Investors
24.81% Incentives
15% Foundation Operations
4.5% Liquidity Support

Source: X
Whereas unlocked tokens are stimulating to participation, they may serve to generate short-term selling pressure following listing.
The initial price of the token is floating around the mark of $0.077, according to the initial pre-market trading. Analysts had anticipated a possible range of $0.04 to $0.10, based on liquidity and exchange demand.
Because of:
Entirely unlocked airdrop tokens.
Innovation Zone volatility
Big staking rewards (3-4 percent base APY, with up to 420% increases on 2-year locks)
Espresso token price may tend to oscillate within the first 48-72 hours.
According to the existing market mood and demand for tokens of infrastructure:
Short-Term (First Week Post-Launch)
Expected Range: $0.05 - $0.12
Several speculative trades and airdrop selling have probably caused high volatility.
Mid-Term (1-3 Months)
Assuming that the participation in staking grows and the ecosystem adoption is rising:
Potential range: $0.10 - $0.18
Further recovery of crypto markets might drive the price of the Espresso esp token to the upper band.
Risk Factors
Airdrop sell-offs
Low initial liquidity
Overall market decline in cryptocurrency.
Investors are advised that this ESP token price forecast is no more than speculation and not investment advice.
To traders, the listing is an opportunity and a risk:
Opportunities:
Early price discovery
Exchange-driven liquidity
Staking yield incentives
Attendance of Airdrop+ campaigns.
Risks:
Sharp price corrections
Innovation Zone volatility
Shallower order book depth of early orders.
Official platforms and the Espresso airdrop checker allow users to check allocations before trading.
It is establishing itself as an Ethereum rollup infrastructure layer. If more rollups adopt it, the utility of tokens in the long-term may be reinforced.
The combination of:
Mainnet launch
Large-scale airdrop
Dual exchange listings
Yield incentives
It makes this ESP launch date one of the remarkable blockchain infrastructure events of early 2026.
The launch is the initiation of the price discovery of the open market. Being listed on MEXC and KuCoin, having a 75,000 USDT reward campaign, and initial prices around $0.077, the next few days will probably determine short-term movement.
Liquidity, market sentiment, and project updates are the factors that traders should have an eye on before making decisions, as is always the case with newly listed cryptocurrency assets.
Disclosure: This is not financial advice. Do Your Own Research before investing. CoinGabbar has no liability for financial losses. Cryptocurrencies are very unpredictable and you can lose all of your money.
Sakshi Jain is a crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in industry research, financial analysis, and content creation. She specializes in producing insightful blogs, in-depth news coverage, and SEO-optimized content. Passionate about bringing clarity and engagement to the fast-changing world of cryptocurrencies, Sakshi focuses on delivering accurate and timely insights. As a crypto journalist at Coin Gabbar, she researches and analyzes market trends, reports on the latest crypto developments and regulations, and crafts high-quality content on emerging blockchain technologies.