CELO token appreciates 20% with Vitalik Buterin's support for change
The CELO network token soared more than 23.9% on Wednesday morning (25). More specifically, the token's rise was 23.9%, the second highest of the day according to CoinGecko. Only the SUI token, with a rise of 25%, performed better.
This strong appreciation was due to Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum network, who took to his X account to praise Celo’s efforts to improve global access to basic payments and financial services. He suggested that these actions could help improve Ethereum itself.
“It’s amazing to see this. Improving global access to basic payments/finance has always been a key way Ethereum can be good for the world, and it’s great to see Celo gaining traction.” these Vitalik no X.
Additionally, Buterin supported Celo’s move to become a Layer 2 network for Ethereum, reinforcing the power that these technologies can wield on large blockchains. They are an excellent tool for increasing blockchain capacity and accelerating their global adoption.
Therefore, Layer 2 tokens are proving to be some of the most promising investment opportunities in 2024. And besides CELO, another excellent opportunity is Pepe Unchained, which offers the first Layer 2 exclusively focused on the launch of memecoins.
Optimism with the CELO network
Buterin pointed to bullish fundamentals surrounding Celo, as reported by Artemis. In that regard, Celo recently surpassed TRON in daily active addresses for stablecoin usage metrics.
“Transfer sizes across all types are growing, indicating that addresses are not just spamming the network by making very small transactions. Additionally, the stablecoin supply on Celo has also grown significantly over the past year,” he wrote a Artemis.
Artemis also highlighted Tether’s move to mint $200 million worth of USDT on Celo, suggesting future demand. On the other hand, Tron recently saw several stablecoins leave its network, which served to trigger this reversal.
But what really drove Celo’s growth was the expansion of stablecoin usage in Africa. According to Artemis, the launch of MiniPay in Nigeria kicked things off, and now three other countries (Kenya, Ghana and South Africa) are using the payment system.
“According to Chainalysis data, Nigeria is ranked second in crypto adoption. Will stablecoin adoption push Kenya and South Africa back into the top 10 by 2025?” Artemis speculated.
Celo Transitions to Ethereum L2
Celo’s transition to an Ethereum Layer 2 follows a proposal created in July 2023 by cLabs, the team behind Celo’s core products and tools. The move aims to support a regenerative digital economy while preserving Celo’s core features: speed, low costs, and user-friendly design.
Celo is currently operating two test networks to evaluate this change. The first, Dango, went live in July, while the second, Alfajores, is scheduled for an update on Thursday (26).
“By transitioning to an L2, Celo strengthens this bond, enabling our developers and protocols to dive even deeper into the vibrant and collaborative Ethereum community. This integration increases opportunities for open source contributions, joint initiatives, and the development of public goods, ensuring that Celo’s impact resonates broadly across the blockchain space,” the blockchain team shared in its blog post.
Finally, Celo’s Layer 2 mainnet is set to launch in early November, with future Dango and Alfajores testnets paving the way to ensure smooth compatibility before launch. Meanwhile, Pepe Unchained has already raised $15 million and has emerged as the largest pre-sale Layer 2 token of 2024.