I believe we are able to agree. Since its genesis block on Earth Day 2020, Celo has at all times been constructed totally different.
Constructed totally different devs, delivery merchandise in over 150+ international locations from Korea to Kenya.
Constructed totally different apps, from zk id to microcredit loans to onchain FX markets.
Constructed totally different tech, as the primary to be mobile-first, with one-block finality, fuel charge abstraction and ultra-low transaction charges since Day 1.
Constructed totally different values, as the primary Proof-of-Stake (PoS), carbon-negative community that mechanically offset its onchain exercise by way of Ultragreen Cash.
Almost 5 years in, Celo continues to keep up its core calling and mission: to create the circumstances of prosperity — for everybody — constructed to make funds accessible and environment friendly for all.
And now, Ethereum.
Ethereum. Ethereum. Ethereum.
Ethereum. Ethereum. Ethereum.
Ethereum. Ethereum. Ethereum.
At this time, following 20+ months of industry-wide collaboration and help led by core contributors at cLabs, and quite a few Celo and Ethereum ecosystem companions, Celo has formally migrated from an EVM-compatible L1 to an Ethereum Layer 2, leveraging OP Stack and EigenDA.
Migrating an present chain to an L2 is not any small feat — we fully modified the way in which it operates, whereas preserving its state and all blocks, a joke internally known as a “onerous, onerous fork.” The onerous work has paid off — any full node can confirm that the state shifting from the L1 to L2 shopper is preserved, confirming the preservation of the community’s close to 5 years of chain historical past as an L1.
This was an intentional resolution to not solely preserve Celo’s core differentiators (e.g., one-block finality, low transaction charges, cellular optimization, charge abstraction, and extra) however to make sure there was zero impression for customers and builders, and to keep up our strong, decentralized ecosystem, key priorities since first proposing the migration throughout EthCC in 2023.
So, why Ethereum?
The reply couldn’t be extra apparent. Celo’s “return residence to Ethereum” bridges the very best of each worlds: Celo’s deal with real-world adoption and Ethereum’s unbelievable safety, group, and community results.
As a fork of Geth, we’ve at all times considered Celo as a part of the broader Ethereum ecosystem, and with cLabs future-proofing early- and later-stage ETH2 milestones (e.g., BLS multisignature-based consensus, EIP-1559, mild purchasers, one-block finality & usability). Ideologically, we have been at all times excited by Ethereum’s scaling roadmap too, which was additional made doable by developments in L2 analysis, and are excited to contribute to the way forward for Ethereum interop as an L2, efforts that began pre-L2 migration by supporting requirements like ERC-7683.
Ethereum can also be greater than a blockchain — it’s a cultural motion. Whereas composed of various philosophies (Cypherpunks, Regens, Degens, et al.), the ecosystem is aligned by its mission in direction of decentralization, transparency, and international monetary inclusivity. These foundational beliefs are shared by the Celo group as core values, albeit with our personal distinctive twist: celebrating Ethereum’s Regen tradition with a larger emphasis on enabling cellular DeFi — and with a selected deal with real-world use circumstances like funds, financial savings, credit score and commerce.
We additionally hope to encourage different EVM-compatible L1s (and non-EVM chains) to observe swimsuit. Celo’s migration is a good case examine for Ethereum, and we’ve spent numerous hours educating lots of of companions on what it means to change into an L2. Ethereum is Web3’s final settlement layer — and we’re assured that when the stormy, short-term “climate” dissipates round narrative and sentiment, the long-term fundamentals are clear. Ethereum is essentially the most decentralized infrastructure in Web3 and the place the place the strongest community results will occur.
On this highly effective second of alignment and convergence, Celo’s renewed edge will speed up progress, collaboration, and our group’s vitality to outshine all that’s come earlier than.
So, what subsequent?
Celo enters its profitable period. As a battle-tested chain, with over 1,000+ tasks (like main blue-chip DeFi tasks Aave, Uniswap, Curve, Chainlink, and so forth.), 14+ stablecoins (together with native USDT & USDC), greater than 11M whole lively addresses, and 720M+ transactions, we’re extra motivated than ever to maintain pushing, innovating, and doubling down on our mission as an L2.
Doing good and profitable aren’t mutually unique, they’re desk stakes — and our ecosystem will proceed to prioritize its basic values of world variety, accessibility, and effectivity to create a extra equitable onchain economic system for all. By becoming a member of forces with Ethereum and the visionary leaders all through our ecosystems, we’re extra well-suited than ever to ship on our mission at scale.
We’re excited to construct collectively on this new period, scaling Ethereum collectively for the actual world.
Rene Reinsberg, Marek Olszewski, & Sep Kamvar
