Vitalik endorses Celo's transition to "Ethereum L2"

In a recent post on the X platform, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin praised the Celo blockchain for hitting a fresh milestone for stablecoin use on the platform. Additionally, the cleo blockchain also surpassed the Tron blockchain network in terms of the daily active addresses for stablecoin.

Buterin remarked in the post,

"This is amazing to see. Improving worldwide access to basic payments and finance has always been a key way that Ethereum can be good for the world, and it’s great to see Celo getting traction."

In terms of price, Celo outperforms Tron (TRX) in every aspect. According to CoinMarketCap data, CELO is trading at $0.6091, corresponding with a 13.78% increase in the last 24 hours. Its trading volume also soared by 508.83% within the same time frame. After Buterin's praises, the CELO token saw a further to $0.68, according to the data from Coin MarketCap.

On the other hand, TRX has lost 1.18% of its previous market value and is currently trading at $0.1504, with trading volume up 16.57%.

Mass adoption of Celo's stablecoin in Africa

According to reports from Artemis, a data science layer for blockchains, Celo's stablecoin usage has recently seen remarkable growth driven by factors such as increased app adoption, growing stablecoin supply, and strong demand in regions like Africa.

The rising number of users in apps like Minipay and Valora has also contributed to this growth. Minipay is known as a stablecoin-powered non-custodial wallet built on the Celo blockchain and Valora is a Celo-based digital wallet that supports multiple currencies like Celo, Celo Dollar (CUSD) and Celo Euro. (cEUR)

Minipay has expanded its reach to several African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. Artemis predicted that the ongoing adoption of Celo could push Kenya and South Africa back into the top 10 in crypto adoption rankings in 2025.

Celo’s Transition to Ethereum Layer 2

Buterin's post comes ahead of Celo’s upcoming transition from a standalone Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible layer-1 blockchain to an Ethereum Layer 2 solution, set to occur with the Alfajores testnet upgrade on September 26. This marks a pivotal shift for Celo, moving from an independent blockchain to a more integrated network within Ethereum’s ecosystem.

The move to Layer 2 (L2) follows a proposal from Celo’s core developer cLabs in July 2023. Currently, Celo operates two L2 testnets: Dango, which went live in July, and Alfajores, which will undergo a Layer-2 upgrade on September 26.

Celo’s Layer-2 mainnet is scheduled to launch in early November, with the Dango testnet and the forthcoming Alfajores upgrade laying the groundwork to ensure seamless compatibility ahead of the rollout.

Celo has emphasized its deep connection with Ethereum, describing its evolution from Layer 1 to Layer 2 as a significant milestone in strengthening its relationship with the Ethereum network.

In a blog post, Celo stated,

"By transitioning to an L2, Celo strengthens this bond, allowing our developers and protocols to immerse themselves even deeper into the vibrant, collaborative Ethereum community."

Celo adds that through this integration, it would open opportunities for open-source contributions, joint partnership, and the development of public goods.