Celo Proposes to Ditch Own Standalone Blockchain for Layer-2 Network on Ethereum

CLabs, the developer behind the Celo blockchain, are proposing to transition from an independent layer-1 blockchain to an Ethereum layer-2 solution.

The team announced the proposed move over the weekend on Twitter.

The existential change could simplify liquidity sharing between Celo and Ethereum while boosting security and facilitating a seamless developer experience, according to the post. Celo already runs the Ethereum Virtual Machine, which means it supports smart contracts in a language similar to what Ethereum developers use to write code.

Ethereum currently has over $26 billion total value locked and Celo has around $99 million, according to data from DefiLlama.

Celo is proposing to use EigenLayer’s EigenDA for off-chain data availability. EigenDA is operated by Ethereum node operators.

“Using an off-chain data availability solution like EigenDA would prevent a steep increase in Celo transaction fees in a way that contributes to Ethereum,” said the blogpost.

CELO, the native token of the blockchain, jumped almost 10% on Monday, reaching a two-week high of $0.59. The token has gained just under 45% over the last month.

None other than Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, weighed in on cLabs’ blog post, writing “Amazing, and excited to see this!,” and he offered some technical suggestions to consider.

“Would love to see the Celo ecosystem come closer to Ethereum,” Buterin wrote.

Celo has seen its transaction growth increase substantially over the past few months, according to data from Dune analytics.