Celo (CELO): how it works, supply and reviews

In short

Type: Ethereum Layer 2 rollup on the OP Stack, settling to Ethereum.
Maximum supply: 1,000,000,000 CELO.
Risks and caveats: Transactions are ordered by a centralized sequencer for now, per the docs.
Checked: 1 November 2026

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Key facts

Ticker: CELO
Official site: celo.org

Key facts checked on 1 November 2026 against official sources.

What is Celo

Celo is an Ethereum Layer 2 network on the OP Stack that posts transaction data to EigenDA and settles to Ethereum. It has 1-second blocks, lets users pay gas in stablecoins, and uses CELO as its native and governance token. Celo launched in 2020 as an independent Layer 1 and migrated to Layer 2 in March 2025.

Network and consensus

Network and consensus — Celo
Parameter	Details
Type	Ethereum Layer 2 rollup on the OP Stack, settling to Ethereum.
Consensus	A sequencer orders transactions; on L1 (2020-2025) Celo used BFT proof-of-stake run by elected validators.
Block time	1 second on L2 (5 seconds on the former L1).
Smart contracts	EVM-equivalent execution; Ethereum contracts and tools work on Celo.
Runs on	Data availability on EigenDA; state roots settle to Ethereum with fault proofs.
Launched	Mainnet launched in April 2020 as a Layer 1; migrated to Layer 2 on 26 March 2025 at block 31,056,500.
Chain ID	Celo Mainnet chain ID 42220.

Supply and issuance

Supply and issuance — Celo
Parameter	Details
Maximum supply	1,000,000,000 CELO.
Issuance	400 million CELO are released through epoch rewards over time, from the CeloUnreleasedTreasury contract.
Staking rewards	Epoch rewards (about every 24 hours) go to community RPC providers, Locked CELO voters, the Community Fund and the Carbon Offsetting Fund.
Initial distribution	At the L2 transition the full 1 billion CELO supply was allocated to the bridge contract on Ethereum.

What CELO is used for

Paying gas fees (stablecoins are also accepted).
Locking CELO to vote in validator elections and on governance proposals.
On-chain governance votes by CELO holders.
Reserve collateral for Celo stablecoins, per the docs.

Who develops and governs Celo

Governance: On-chain governance; changes must be agreed by CELO holders.
Developer: Celo Core Co. describes itself as the engineering and ecosystem team behind the Celo network.
Company: cLabs proposed and led the Layer 2 transition.
Security Council: A 2/2 Safe multisig of a cLabs 6/8 multisig and a 6/8 Celo Community Security Council can upgrade L2 contracts and execute hotfixes.
Audits: Core contract releases were audited by OpenZeppelin, Certora, Hacken, Verilog and Hexens, per celo.org/audits.

History

History — Celo
Date	Event
April 2020	Celo mainnet launches as a Layer 1 blockchain on Earth Day.
June 2020	A governance proposal renames the native asset Celo Gold to Celo (CELO); it passes in June 2020.
13 July 2022	Celo mainnet stalls for about 24 hours; block production stops until validators upgrade to release 1.5.8 on 14 July.
July 2023	cLabs proposes moving Celo from an independent Layer 1 to an Ethereum Layer 2.
26 September 2024	The Alfajores testnet migrates to Layer 2.
26 March 2025	Celo mainnet migrates to an Ethereum Layer 2 at block 31,056,500.

Security and audits

Core contract releases have published audits by OpenZeppelin, Certora, Hacken, Verilog and Hexens.
A Security Council multisig holds the protocol's emergency keys on the L2.
On 13-14 July 2022 the Celo L1 stopped producing blocks for about 24 hours; cLabs published a post-mortem.

Security incidents

Security incidents — Celo
Date	What happened	Source
13 July 2022	Network halt: Celo mainnet (then a Layer 1) stopped producing blocks at block 14,035,019 from 13 July 2022, 23:20 UTC, until 14 July, 23:42 UTC. A consensus message exceeded the network-layer size limit under high load; validators resumed the chain with release 1.5.8. About 400,000 transactions were delayed; the chain state stayed readable.	docs.google.com

Official CELO contracts

Official CELO contracts
Network	Contract address
Celo	0x471EcE3750Da237f93B8E339c536989b8978a438
Ethereum	0x3c7011fd5e6aed460caa4985cf8d8caba435b092

On Celo the CELO token contract is listed as GoldToken/CeloToken at 0x471E…a438. Since the L2 migration the canonical CELO is an ERC-20 on Ethereum (0x3c70…b092), minted in full to the OptimismPortal bridge.

Risks and caveats

Transactions are ordered by a centralized sequencer for now, per the docs.
A Security Council multisig can upgrade L2 contracts and execute hotfixes.
The Celo L1 halted for about 24 hours in July 2022.
CELO on Celo is bridged from Ethereum since March 2025; the bridge contracts hold the supply.

Questions and answers

What is Celo?

Celo is an Ethereum Layer 2 on the OP Stack with 1-second blocks, data on EigenDA and gas payable in stablecoins. It ran as its own Layer 1 from April 2020 until March 2025.

Is Celo Gold the same as CELO?

Yes. Celo Gold (cGLD) was the original name of Celo's native asset; a governance proposal to rename it Celo (CELO) passed in June 2020.

What is the maximum supply of CELO?

The maximum supply is 1,000,000,000 CELO; 400 million are released over time through epoch rewards.

When did Celo become a Layer 2?

Celo mainnet migrated to an Ethereum Layer 2 on 26 March 2025 at block 31,056,500.

Has the Celo network ever stopped?

Yes. On 13-14 July 2022 the Celo L1 stopped producing blocks for about 24 hours; cLabs published a post-mortem and validators restarted the chain with a fix.

Sources

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Page updated: 2026-11-01