The blockchain project CELO is reshaping the global payment landscape, and its innovative solutions have garnered significant attention from investment giant A16Z. CELO is dedicated to creating a "mobile-first global payment layer," and this ambitious goal is gradually being realized.

With the migration to Ethereum Layer 2 in March 2025, CELO's technical performance has achieved a qualitative leap. Block time has been reduced to 1 second, and transaction costs have decreased by 92%, while supporting operations across six major networks. It is worth mentioning that even in a 2G network environment in Africa, CELO can complete transactions at a very low cost. Its unique "phone number mapped public key" design greatly lowers the barrier to entry, with the potential to benefit 20 million users by 2025 and an expected transaction volume exceeding $1.5 billion.

The economic model of CELO also demonstrates unique charm. The CELO token not only has governance functions but can also serve as collateral for the stablecoin cUSD. This design creates a virtuous cycle of increasing demand, token appreciation, and enhanced reserves, with capital efficiency far surpassing similar projects. The mixed asset structure of the cUSD reserve pool meets regulatory requirements while possessing risk resistance capabilities, and it can even achieve real-time exchange with the digital RMB, significantly reducing settlement costs.

In terms of market expansion, CELO has adopted a strategy that starts from specific points and extends to broader areas. Beginning with emerging markets, CELO has built an ecosystem of "mobile wallets + local stablecoins." It is expected that by the third quarter of 2025, its DeFi locked value will reach $800 million, with 70% coming from users in Africa and Latin America. At the same time, CELO is also actively promoting enterprise-level integration, such as collaborating with Deutsche Telekom to connect to its payment network of 240 million users.

CELO's competitive advantage lies in its mobile-first differentiation strategy. By binding "localized currency + high-frequency scenarios", CELO has established a solid user base in various locations. For example, in Brazil, the circulation of cREAL has reached 30 million USD, with a very low decoupling risk. With the migration to Optimism OP Stack, CELO will achieve a processing speed of 1000 TPS and extremely low transaction fees, further consolidating its competitive advantage.

A16Z's investment strategy in CELO is based on three core considerations: first, CELO's Layer 2 upgrades and cross-chain capabilities are expected to build a universal payment protocol; second, CELO fills the payment gap in emerging markets, with significant growth in user activity in Africa; finally, CELO's collaboration with the United Nations on the UBI project highlights its social value in the Web3 era.

Although CELO's current market value is only a small fraction of its historical peak, its growth potential is enormous as the ecosystem continues to expand. Industry forecasts predict that by the end of 2025, the number of CELO users is expected to exceed 1 million, further solidifying its position as the "Visa of the Web3 era." CELO is writing a new chapter in global payments, and its future development is worth looking forward to.