What Is Celo (CELO): The Mobile-first Blockchain for Phone Users

As the internet moves toward web3, and decentralized finance (DeFi) attracts more users, exciting new protocols are gaining momentum. One such platform, Celo, promises to become the “WhatsApp of DeFi.” In this article, we’ll learn what Celo is, how it operates, why it may be a good investment — and how you can purchase CELO tokens through Bybit.

Key Takeaways:

• Celo is a carbon-negative protocol built to facilitate decentralized social payments for mobile users.

• Its ecosystem consists of an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, a native token and three algorithmic stablecoins (cUSD, cEUR and cREAL).

• Celo’s native token, CELO, can be bought on Bybit as both a Spot pair and a USDT Perpetual contract.

What Is Celo?

Celo is a carbon-negative EVM-compatible Layer 1 protocolthat allows mobile users worldwide to make simple financial transactions with cryptocurrency. The platform has its own blockchain that features one native token and three algorithmic stablecoins (cUSD, cEUR and cREAL). Celo has also partnered with the two most prominent stablecoin projects, USDT and USDC, to integrate the native versions of each stablecoin into its blockchain, expanding its reach to the broader crypto market.

Celo was created in 2017 by GoDaddy executives Rene Reinsberg and Marek Olszewski and MIT professor Sep Kamvar. The company immediately attracted major investors, raising $46.5 million between 2018 and 2020 through the sale of CELO tokens. Capital firms like Social Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst were among the principal investors. The Celo blockchain then launched on Earth Day 2020 as the first carbon-negative proof of stake (PoS) Layer 1.

As the platform grew, its founders were able to build the infrastructure necessary to meet their objectives. Now, Celo provides global payment infrastructure that crypto users can easily access from mobile devices via stablecoin provision and credit solutions. The company’s blockchain can also host decentralized applications (DApps), making the platform a potential hub for web3 activity. 

Celo’s on-chain oracles, such as Chainlink and Band Protocol, facilitate the creation of DeFi DApps. Additionally, its integrated Rarible API enables developers to build NFT projects on Celo. 

How Does Celo Work?

While Celo’s general notion of blockchains and decentralization parallels similar crypto services, its focus on mobile access sets it apart. The Celo blockchain has been designed to unite all the mobile phones in the world within a single decentralized framework. 

Celo is built with a full-stack approach that comprises three interacting stacks: the PoS blockchain itself, Celo core smart contracts and the DApps running above the protocol. Its blockchain uses a Byzantine fault tolerance consensus mechanism to allow the system to govern itself. Its smart contracts, which are managed by decentralized governance, are EVM-compatible and upgradeable. 

Celo has become a “green” blockchain by automatically offsetting its carbon footprint since its first block, sending CELO daily to an on-chain Carbon Offsetting Fund. 

Celo’s native token, CELO coin, is an ERC-20 token that provides the basis for the system’s governance and general organization. Holding this token is what allows users to participate in governance decisions and earn rewards. The organization also holds these tokens alongside other crypto assets as a part of the blockchain’s reserves.

Celo Platform-Native Stablecoins

Celo facilitates mobile transactions through the use of its platform-native stablecoins (cUSD, cEUR and cREAL). These stablecoins are pegged to various fiat currencies through an algorithmic reserve that features a smart contract–based stability mechanism called Mento, and is supported by crypto assets such BTC, ETH and USDT in the Celo Reserve. These algorithmic stablecoins can be used for any transaction in the centralized finance (CeFi) and DeFi apps in the Celo ecosystem using a mobile number, and can also be used to pay for gas fees. 

Celo’s Mobile-First Approach

Celo is extremely popular with users because it has a wide variety of uses. The mobile-first approach makes the blockchain an excellent choice for conducting instant international transactions. Generous rewards, meanwhile, have attracted many users to the idea of holding Celo stablecoins. Pledging CELO coins can net investors a passive income, and the platform’s decentralized nature makes it a great choice for anyone committed to the future of DeFi.

While Celo crypto was already an attractive investment in the years immediately after its founding, it has become even more popular since its hard fork in 2021. This major change to the protocol, called the Donut Hardfork, gave Celo EVM compatibility, facilitating interoperability with the Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM) and NEAR (NEAR) blockchains. By further integrating itself within the larger crypto ecosystem, the Celo blockchain has become an easier place for mobile users to trade.

Celo vs. Other Blockchains

Curious about Celo’s unique selling point as compared to other blockchains? While Celo still lacks the name recognition and widespread popularity of several other platforms, its speed, low transaction fees and mobile focus could see it grow exponentially in the years ahead.

Ultimately, as a crypto investor you’ll have to determine how the Celo blockchain stacks up against its competitors before deciding where to place your digital holdings. If low fees and higher speed are important to you, then Celo could be a better option. In the following section, we’ll pit Celo against popular Layer 1 blockchains Ethereum and NEAR.

Celo vs. Ethereum

Celo and Ethereum are both blockchains built to further DeFi’s proliferation. However, they are vastly different entities. Ethereum, for now, remains by far the more popular platform, rivaling Bitcoin’s mainstream recognition. Celo, while still not as popular, could someday match Ethereum’s fame by focusing on its niche, the mobile market. Unlike Ethereum, Celo’s primary purpose is to serve mobile phone users.

There are several ways in which Celo has intentionally deviated from Ethereum’s model as its founders seek to set a separate course. For one thing, users can pay Celo’s transaction fees in crypto assets besides CELO coins, the blockchain’s native token. This grants users greater flexibility in managing their digital holdings. Ethereum, on the other hand, requires users to pay fees in the platform’s native token, Ether.

Thanks to the unique structures within the Celo blockchain, blocks can be built in just five seconds. Ethereum, meanwhile, requires over 12 seconds to build a block. These considerable benefits could see Celo gain in popularity at Ethereum's expense.

Celo vs. NEAR

As protocols launched around the same time and for similar purposes, Celo and NEAR make for an instructive comparison. NEAR remains the more popular blockchain, thanks largely to its larger range of potential uses. The NEAR protocol can support independent wallets and other forms of self-custody, making it an attractive choice for crypto investors tied strictly to the notion of decentralized finance. Celo, meanwhile, relies to a greater extent on outside entities like official wallets and crypto exchanges.

The Celo blockchain outperforms NEAR in terms of cost and transaction speed. Completing a transaction on NEAR can take up to 60 times longer than it would on Celo, and confirming those transactions is more expensive. Once again, Celo’s speed and affordability may help it to become a central player in the world of mobile crypto transactions.

CELO Tokenomics

The CELO coin is the native token behind the blockchain’s governance and general operations. If you’re looking to participate in the Celo crypto protocol, understanding and investing in CELO coins is the obvious place to start.

When speaking of tokenomics, it’s often best to begin with the price of each individual token. As of May 27, 2024, each CELO coin is worth around $0.89, a significant decrease of over 90% from its 2021 ATH of $9.82, but also substantially higher than its ATL of $0.3768, recorded in June 2023. There are only 1 billion CELO coins in existence, with 536,677,480 in circulation.

Despite recent price dips, there are reasons to think the CELO coin could become much more valuable in the future. After all, the coin is undergirding a system designed to boost mobile transactions, and the future of DeFI will likely depend on such systems. If CELO crypto gains in popularity thanks to its mobile-friendly model, then the CELO coin would correspondingly increase in value.

Is CELO a Good Investment?

Crypto investments are inherently risky, and you can never be certain that a particular token will increase in price. Many tokens are tied to ideas, more than to products with existing value. This inherent intellectualization of the process makes it hard to predict winners and losers. With that said, there is reason to believe that the CELO coin could be worth adding to a diversified portfolio.

When considering the CELO coin’s potential, it’s important to remember how Celo could fit into the internet of the future. Web 3.0 is likely to consist of a series of decentralized applications with different cryptocurrencies, allowing for quick, affordable transactions. If the current internet is anything to go by, users will likely access digital platforms through their mobile devices. The Celo blockchain, with its focus on mobile users, is well placed to become a central component of this next-generation digital infrastructure.

CELO’s Future

Future internet users could come to see Celo as the WhatsApp of the crypto world. If many people, eager to play a role in governing the protocol, invest in CELO coins, they would thereby increase the value of the native token. Decentralized app developers will also appreciate the blockchain’s flexible framework. Together, these factors suggest Celo has a sustainable model that could grow in the months and years ahead.

Not only is the Celo blockchain primed to play a major role in web3, but the CELO coin’s inherent stability should also appeal to crypto investors. The Celo reserve remains calm and stable, guaranteeing the value of Celo stablecoins and providing a firm foundation for the entire system. This fundamental stability gives the Celo Foundation the leverage to scale the protocol in a safe, responsible manner.

In a bid to further optimize the payment process in the real world, the Celo team has recently proposed a migration from Layer 1 to Layer 2 for the Celo blockchain via the OP Stack. This migration would bring about several benefits, including:

• Faster transactions that reduce the block time from 5 seconds to 2 seconds

• Increased capacity, as the blockchain can handle more transactions per second (TPS), with a total throughput increase of 50%

• Improved security bridging to Ethereum 

Every crypto investor should be on the lookout for tokens that have both future promise and present stability. The CELO coin, thanks to the innovative nature of the Celo blockchain, has both of these essential qualities. If you’re willing to take on the inherent risk of a crypto investment and you’re looking for a particular token, CELO isn’t a bad choice.

CELO Crypto Price Prediction

While it’s almost always impossible to predict future prices with any sort of precision, experts can assess a coin and the blockchain protocol behind it before setting general expectations. In the case of the CELO coin, the genuine promise of the mobile-friendly model could lead to a long-term increase in price.

CELO experienced a brief spike in mid-March 2024 to $1.75, though it quickly tumbled to a low of $0.76 within a month. The coin has been trading sideways since that time. Despite the recent drop in CELO’s price, however, many forecasters hold favorable predictions for the CELO coin. DigitalCoinPrice expects CELO to cross $2 by 2025 and surge to $6.68 by 2030. CoinCodex is more bullish on CELO in the short term, anticipating its price will reach $4.16 in 2025 but retrace slightly to $3.59 by 2030.

Remember that these predictions are based on a set of assumptions about the future that can’t be confirmed today. The crypto market, not to mention the world as a whole, is volatile. While experts can make educated predictions about what the future will hold, CELO’s price will ultimately depend on a slate of unforeseen factors that the world has yet to reveal. As always, we recommend you DYOR.

Where to Buy CELO Crypto Tokens

Now that you know what Celo is, let’s learn how to actually invest in CELO tokens. Buying and selling CELO is simple on the Bybit trading platform through either the CELO/USDT spot pair or CELOUSDT Perpetual contract.

From May 14—May 30, 2024, you can participate in two Celo events on Bybit to grab your share of a 200,000 USDC prize pool. The first is a Token Splash event, in which new and existing users can deposit CELO, or deposit USDT and trade CELO to earn from a total 100,000 USDC Prize Pool. The second is a 100,000 USDC CELO Airdrop, in which 5,000 lucky winners will receive 20 USDT each.

The Bottom Line

For beginners who want to know more about Celo, we hope our guide satisfies you. All in all, it’s a blockchain protocol designed to help mobile traders quickly and cheaply conduct crypto transactions. The system’s native token, CELO coin, allows for a PoS governance model, with the associated stablecoin giving the entire Celo framework stability. If you think Celo’s approach could make it a mainstay in the future of decentralized finance, then CELO might be worth your investment.

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