diff --git a/smoke-test.bash b/smoke-test.bash
index 89b36720..5e0c5bcc 100755
--- a/smoke-test.bash
+++ b/smoke-test.bash
@@ -3,6 +3,14 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 ./test-node.bash --espresso --latest-espresso-image --validate --tokenbridge --init-force --detach
 
+# Wait for the sequencer HTTP to be ready
+echo "Waiting for sequencer HTTP to be ready..."
+while ! curl -sf http://localhost:8547 > /dev/null; do
+  echo "Sequencer HTTP is not ready yet. Retrying in 5 seconds..."
+  sleep 5
+done
+echo "Sequencer HTTP is ready!"
+
 # Sending L2 transaction
 ./test-node.bash script send-l2 --ethamount 100 --to user_l2user --wait
 
diff --git a/test-node.bash b/test-node.bash
index a32ae1e2..4e2f0920 100755
--- a/test-node.bash
+++ b/test-node.bash
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ done
 
 if $espresso; then
     NITRO_CONTRACTS_REPO=https://github.com/EspressoSystems/nitro-contracts.git
-    NITRO_CONTRACTS_BRANCH=v2.1.1-beta.0-cff556b
+    NITRO_CONTRACTS_BRANCH=v2.1.3-alpha
     export NITRO_CONTRACTS_REPO
     export NITRO_CONTRACTS_BRANCH
     echo "Running espresso mode"