Celo L2 Is Now Live! A Note From Our Founders

I think we can agree. Since its genesis block on Earth Day 2020, Celo has always been built different. 

Built different devs, shipping products in over 150+ countries from Korea to Kenya. 

Built different apps, from zk identity to microcredit loans to onchain FX markets.

Built different tech, as the first to be mobile-first, with one-block finality, gas fee abstraction and ultra-low transaction fees since Day 1. 

Built different values, as the first Proof-of-Stake (PoS), carbon-negative network that automatically offset its onchain activity via Ultragreen Money.

Nearly five years in, Celo continues to maintain its core calling and mission: to create the conditions of prosperity––for everyone––built to make payments accessible and efficient for all.

And now, Ethereum. 

Ethereum. Ethereum. Ethereum.
Ethereum. Ethereum. Ethereum.
Ethereum. Ethereum. Ethereum.

Last week, following 20+ months of industry-wide collaboration and support led by core contributors at cLabs, and numerous Celo and Ethereum ecosystem partners, Celo has officially migrated from an EVM-compatible L1 to an Ethereum Layer 2, leveraging OP Stack and EigenDA. 

Migrating an existing chain to an L2 is no small feat—we completely changed the way it operates, while preserving its state and all blocks, a joke internally referred to as a “hard, hard fork.” The hard work has paid off––any full node can verify that the state moving from the L1 to L2 client is preserved, confirming the preservation of the network’s near five years of chain history as an L1. 

This was an intentional decision to not only maintain Celo’s core differentiators (e.g., one-block finality, low transaction fees, mobile optimization, fee abstraction, and more) but to ensure there was zero impact for users and developers, and to maintain our robust, decentralized ecosystem, key priorities since first proposing the migration during EthCC in 2023.  

So, why Ethereum? 

The answer couldn’t be more obvious. Celo’s “return home to Ethereum" bridges the best of both worlds: Celo’s focus on real-world adoption and Ethereum’s incredible security, community, and network effects.  

As a fork of Geth, we’ve always viewed Celo as 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, light clients, one-block finality & usability). Ideologically, we were always excited by Ethereum’s scaling roadmap too, which was further made possible by developments in L2 research, and are excited to contribute to the future of Ethereum interop as an L2, efforts that started pre-L2 migration by supporting standards like ERC-7683. 

Ethereum is also more than a blockchain—it's a cultural movement. While composed of different philosophies (Cypherpunks, Regens, Degens, et al.), the ecosystem is aligned by its mission towards decentralization, transparency, and global financial inclusivity. These foundational beliefs are shared by the Celo community as core values, albeit with our own unique twist: celebrating Ethereum’s Regen culture with a greater emphasis on enabling mobile DeFi––and with a particular focus on real-world use cases like payments, savings, credit and commerce. 

We also hope to inspire other EVM-compatible L1s (and non-EVM chains) to follow suit. Celo’s migration is a great case study for Ethereum, and we’ve spent countless hours educating hundreds of partners on what it means to become an L2. Ethereum is Web3’s ultimate settlement layer––and we’re confident that once the stormy, short-term “weather” dissipates around narrative and sentiment, the long-term fundamentals are clear. Ethereum is the most decentralized infrastructure in Web3 and the place where the strongest network effects will happen. 

In this powerful moment of alignment and convergence, Celo’s renewed edge will accelerate growth, collaboration, and our community’s energy to outshine all that’s come before. 

So, what next?

Celo enters its winning era. As a battle-tested chain, with over 1,000+ projects (like major blue-chip DeFi projects Aave, Uniswap, Curve, Chainlink, etc.), 14+ stablecoins (including native USDT & USDC), more than 11M total active addresses, and 720M+ transactions, we are more motivated than ever to keep pushing, innovating, and doubling down on our mission as an L2. 

Doing good and winning aren’t mutually exclusive, they’re table stakes––and our ecosystem will continue to prioritize its fundamental values of global diversity, accessibility, and efficiency to create a more equitable onchain economy for all. By joining forces with Ethereum and the visionary leaders throughout our ecosystems, we’re more well-suited than ever to deliver on our mission at scale. 

We’re excited to build together in this new era, scaling Ethereum together for the real world. 

Rene Reinsberg, Marek Olszewski, & Sep Kamvar

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