Celo

• Mobile-first: Celo is designed to make blockchain technology more accessible via mobile devices, allowing over 6 billion smartphone users worldwide to interact with decentralized financial services.
• Low transaction fees: By transitioning to an Ethereum Layer 2, Celo aims to maintain its hallmark of sub-cent transaction fees, ensuring affordability for users in developing markets.
• Carbon-negative: Celo’s “Ultragreen Money” initiative enhances sustainability by burning 20% of transaction fees and contributing them to a Carbon Offset Fund.

Transition to Ethereum Layer 2

Celo is undergoing a significant upgrade to transition from a standalone Layer 1 blockchain to an Ethereum Layer 2, utilizing zk-rollups technology. This upgrade will improve security, scalability, and interoperability with the Ethereum network, while retaining Celo’s core features like paying gas fees using ERC-20 tokens. The shift is a crucial step toward greater alignment with Ethereum, leveraging its large developer ecosystem and robust infrastructure.

Key Milestones

• Dango Testnet: Launched in July 2024, this was Celo’s first Layer 2 testnet, helping developers familiarize themselves with the L2 environment.
• Alfajores Testnet: Launched in September 2024, providing a stable test environment before the full mainnet release.
• Mainnet Launch: Expected by December 2024, after extensive testing on the Baklava testnet.

Ecosystem and Use Cases

Celo is home to a wide variety of applications that aim to make financial tools accessible to anyone with a mobile phone. Its ecosystem includes projects focused on sustainable finance (ReFi), Universal Basic Income (UBI), and financial inclusion. Notable projects include:

• MiniPay: A lightweight stablecoin wallet built in collaboration with Opera, focused on fast and affordable transactions for emerging markets.
• Plastiks: An environmental project focusing on plastic waste recovery and recycling through tokenized solutions.
• GoodDollar: A Universal Basic Income distribution protocol utilizing Celo’s network to facilitate regular payments to users.

Technical Specifications

• Native Currency: Celo’s native cryptocurrency, CELO, is used for governance and staking, while also serving as an ERC-20 compliant token on the Celo blockchain.
• Smart Contracts: Celo supports Ethereum’s Solidity language, enabling developers to create decentralized applications and financial products.
• Transaction Fees: One of Celo’s unique features is the ability to pay transaction fees using a variety of ERC-20 tokens, making it more user-friendly for mobile users.