Celo becomes Ethereum L2 with Optimism rollup implementation

Celo, the blockchain network launched in 2020, has officially transitioned from a layer-1 chain to an Ethereum layer-2 protocol.
Celo announced the successful transition in a March 26 X post, stating that “Celo is officially an Ethereum layer 2” protocol. In the thread, the organization claimed the new protocol features one-second blocks, sub-cent transaction costs, and Tether’s USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) as gas.
Celo first proposed this transition in the summer of 2023, and it is now completed after block production on the old layer-1 platform halted and continued on the new network. The new platform is based on the OP technology stack and an optimistic rollups implementation.
Source: Celo
Related: Vitalik Buterin endorses Celo for beating Tron in stablecoin addresses
Optimism-based architecture
Blockchain rollups are layer-2 scaling solutions designed to bundle multiple transactions off the main blockchain, reducing congestion and lowering transaction fees. Optimistic rollups owe their name to their assumption that offchain transactions are valid by default, only resorting to fraud proofs during a challenge period if discrepancies are detected on the main chain.
Marek Olszewski, CEO of Celo developer cLabs, told Cointelegraph that “migrating to an Ethereum L2 enhances Celo’s security and scalability.” He added:
“Celo transactions are now anchored to Ethereum, inheriting its battle-tested economic security and decentralization. Celo L2 also offers one-second block times and near-instant confirmations.“
Related: A beginner’s guide to understanding the layers of blockchain technology
Leveraging Ethereum’s network effects
Irfan Shaik, founder of rollup protocol Interstate, also recognized the change as positive for the protocol. He highlighted that Ethereum “has the greatest network effects of any chain,” adding:
“Layer 1s with liquidity fragmentation can instead tap into the largest pool of liquidity available, the ETH layer 1s.“
Olszewski also shared his enthusiasm over the transition to the OP tech stack, saying it allows for “deeper composability with Ethereum-native apps and protocols.” The new system is also significantly simplified, with 365,000 fewer lines of code — decreasing attack surface and, according to him, leading to a lighter, cleaner and faster codebase.
He also highlighted that the upgrade preserved Celo’s near five-year chain history and was carried out in a trustless manner. The token was also moved to the Ethereum blockchain, which Olszewski pointed out should sensibly increase its liquidity. He explained:
“What this means is that Celo becomes a fully-aligned Ethereum layer 2 — by architecture, by ecosystem and by mission.“
Magazine: What are native rollups? Full guide to Ethereum’s latest innovation
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 109,082.00
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,619.56
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00
XRP (XRP) $ 2.31
BNB (BNB) $ 662.19
Solana (SOL) $ 151.96
USDC (USDC) $ 0.999805
TRON (TRX) $ 0.287600
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.171128
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,619.87
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.587729
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 109,013.00
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 39.18
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,163.85
Sui (SUI) $ 2.90
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 501.63
Chainlink (LINK) $ 13.95
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.10
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.260372
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 18.30
USDS (USDS) $ 0.999678
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,809.93
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000012
Toncoin (TON) $ 2.80
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.161080
WETH (WETH) $ 2,622.55
Litecoin (LTC) $ 87.68
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 44.95
Binance Bridged USDT (BNB Smart Chain) (BSC-USD) $ 1.00
Monero (XMR) $ 314.34
Coinbase Wrapped BTC (CBBTC) $ 109,145.00
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00
Polkadot (DOT) $ 3.45
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 4.33
Uniswap (UNI) $ 7.66
Aave (AAVE) $ 294.20
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000010
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00
Pi Network (PI) $ 0.460567
Ethena Staked USDe (SUSDE) $ 1.18
Bittensor (TAO) $ 321.25
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.095450
OKB (OKB) $ 48.25
Aptos (APT) $ 4.45
BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) $ 1.00
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 2.23
Jito Staked SOL (JITOSOL) $ 184.78
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 4.85
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 16.93
Ondo (ONDO) $ 0.799772
sUSDS (SUSDS) $ 1.06
USD1 (USD1) $ 1.00
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.077863
Fasttoken (FTN) $ 4.45
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.567921
Cosmos Hub (ATOM) $ 4.13
Gate (GT) $ 15.70
VeChain (VET) $ 0.020925
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 0.674130
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.194015
Bonk (BONK) $ 0.000022
Official Trump (TRUMP) $ 8.62
Sky (SKY) $ 0.080216
Ethena (ENA) $ 0.264955
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.337846
Render (RENDER) $ 3.21
Lombard Staked BTC (LBTC) $ 108,428.00
Binance-Peg WETH (WETH) $ 2,623.11
Quant (QNT) $ 108.64
Filecoin (FIL) $ 2.31
Algorand (ALGO) $ 0.180207
Jupiter Perpetuals Liquidity Provider Token (JLP) $ 4.52
Worldcoin (WLD) $ 0.872254
USDtb (USDTB) $ 0.999859
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 0.999569
Sei (SEI) $ 0.258500
Binance Staked SOL (BNSOL) $ 161.00
KuCoin (KCS) $ 11.09
USDT0 (USDT0) $ 0.999843
Jupiter (JUP) $ 0.432103
SPX6900 (SPX) $ 1.36
Kelp DAO Restaked ETH (RSETH) $ 2,748.64
Rocket Pool ETH (RETH) $ 2,988.74
NEXO (NEXO) $ 1.22
Flare (FLR) $ 0.016164
Celestia (TIA) $ 1.60
Tokenize Xchange (TKX) $ 15.05
Polygon Bridged USDT (Polygon) (USDT) $ 1.00
Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) $ 1.06
XDC Network (XDC) $ 0.065166
Injective (INJ) $ 10.43
Mantle Staked Ether (METH) $ 2,792.35
Stacks (STX) $ 0.658253
Binance Bridged USDC (BNB Smart Chain) (USDC) $ 1.00
Solv Protocol BTC (SOLVBTC) $ 108,726.00
StakeWise Staked ETH (OSETH) $ 2,754.76
Sonic (S) $ 0.302876
Optimism (OP) $ 0.548038
Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) $ 1.47
SyrupUSDC (SYRUPUSDC) $ 1.11