Celo is a cryptocurrency payments platform aiming to gain traction with global mobile payments. The project aims to expand the cryptocurrency ecosystem and bring financial inclusion to the masses.
With Celo, users can make mobile payments to anyone in their contact list. This is made possible by using phone numbers as public keys through a decentralized identity-based address layer. Celo also uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
The CELO blockchain also supports decentralized applications, and the project's native token, CELO, can be used to participate in staking and governance voting activities. The CELO token also acts as a reserve currency for the protocol's stablecoin, Celo dollars (cUSD). Other reserve currencies include BTC, ETH and DAI.
Co-founded by Rene Reinsberg and Marek Olszewski, CELO has, over the years, attracted investments from various VC firms.
