Celo is a carbon-negative, permissionless blockchain that supports the CELO governance asset and other ERC-20 Mento stable assets, which may be used to pay for transaction fees. With its interoperability, cross-chain compatibility, and mission to create the conditions of prosperity for all, Celo is capable of bringing the regenerative finance (ReFi) movement mainstream by accelerating global financial inclusion, community commerce, and climate-positive technology across multiple ecosystems in parallel. Importantly, Celo is also one of the world’s first [carbon-negative] blockchains. Its proof-of-stake consensus mechanism requires a small fraction of the energy used by proof-of-work chains. The Celo community’s commitment to the planet goes even further, as an integral partner in the Climate Collective, an expanding coalition of companies building at the intersection of Web3 and climate action. The Mento Reserve, supported by the Mento Protocol, which allows access to various stable assets to users on the Celo blockchain, further holds a diversified portfolio of digital assets, with plans to have 40% of the Reserve represented by natural capital-backed assets in four years’ time. Another unique feature of Celo is its mobile-first design, which can help reach billions of global users at scale. This includes a light-client syncing mechanism called Plumo, a zk-SNARK-based system that allows Celo mobile and resource-constrained users to sync to the Celo blockchain faster, while using only a few kilobytes of data; mapping encrypted phone numbers to wallet addresses (so users can send digital assets to friends and family in their contact lists); or accessing an ecosystem of dapps, like the Valora Wallet, via low-powered smartphone devices. Each of these makes transacting on the blockchain easier for real world users of all experience levels. To learn more about Celo’s uniqueness, visit the Celo library of technical documentation and Github.

The Celo blockchain uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The CELO governance asset supports the security, growth, and development of the platform by enabling CELO holders to stake the asset in support of Celo Validators, vote on changes or additions to the core technology proposed by community members, and engage directly with dapps on the Celo Platform. Validators play an important role in participating in the consensus mechanism of the Celo Platform. They help secure the Celo network and act independently to verify transactions and propose blocks to add to the blockchain.