Dear Celo Community,

As this remarkable year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on an extraordinary personal and professional journey. Earlier this year, I embraced the life-changing experience of welcoming my first child, after which I returned from parental leave to my new role as CEO of cLabs. This experience has been profoundly moving and deeply inspired me to continue driving our mission forward, strengthening my commitment to building a better future for the next generation.

This year has been transformative not only for me but for the entire Celo ecosystem. Together, we’ve navigated a chapter of evolution, growth, and renewed purpose. As I write this, I’m filled with gratitude for the collective energy, passion, and resilience that have driven us forward. Every step we’ve taken is a testament to what we can achieve together.

2024: A Year of Strategic Evolution

2024 marked a pivotal chapter in Celo’s story. At cLabs, we undertook significant steps to position Celo for long-term impact. One of the most transformative changes was the proposal to transition Celo to an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) using the OP Stack. This decision was not made lightly. It followed months of rigorous research, community feedback, and thoughtful deliberation.

By evolving Celo’s architecture, we aim to bring our mission of prosperity for all into closer alignment with Ethereum’s ecosystem, enhancing scalability, security, and developer accessibility while maintaining our unique focus on regenerative finance and real-world use cases. The strides we’ve made this year have been extraordinary. From designing and implementing the roadmap for Celo L2, to navigating the complexities of transitioning to an L2, every step has brought us closer to realizing our vision. Our teams have worked tirelessly to lay a robust foundation, and the results speak to our collective dedication and resilience:

  • A Clear Roadmap: Early on, we outlined the “Cel2” roadmap, detailing the milestones necessary for this ambitious transition. These updates ensured transparency and invited collaboration from the community at every step.
  • Selecting Optimism and the OP Stack: Through comprehensive analyses, including frameworks for selecting the optimal L2 stack, we narrowed our focus to a solution that leverages the OP Stack, combining the strengths of Optimism’s technology with EigenLayer and Eigenda for off-chain data availability. This choice balances innovation with practicality, aligning with the needs of our millions of users that rely on Celo's low cost transaction fees.
  • Community Engagement: Throughout the year, we prioritized open dialogue, hosting forums, sharing updates, and integrating feedback to ensure this transition is rooted in the needs and aspirations of the Celo community.

Major Milestones Achieved

As we worked towards this transition, cLabs delivered tangible outcomes that set the stage for the future:

Dango L2 Testnet: We launched Dango, the first testnet for Celo’s L2 implementation. This was a critical step in testing the capabilities and performance of the new architecture. Dango has provided developers with hands-on experience and invaluable insights.

Alfajores Goes L2: Our testnet migration continued with the successful transition of Alfajores to an L2 architecture. This accomplishment validated key components of the new design and reaffirmed our readiness for the mainnet migration.

Mainnet Announcement: In December, we announced that the mainnet migration to an Ethereum L2 is planned for Q1 of 2025. This milestone represents the culmination of months of effort and positions Celo to become a leading example of regenerative finance within the Ethereum ecosystem. The excitement for this next phase is palpable. The hard work we’ve put in throughout the year is about to bear fruit, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about the transformative possibilities that lie ahead.

The Great Celo Halvening: As part of this new era, we introduced proposed tokenomics that align with the transition to L2. If approved by governance, The Great Celo Halvening will reduce epoch rewards by 50%, signaling our commitment to long-term sustainability. This change reflects the maturation of the Celo ecosystem and positions us to better serve developers, users, and the global community.

Real-World Impact: In Rene's From Vision to Impact end-of-year post, he highlighted the remarkable growth of real-world usage of Celo, including groundbreaking projects like Minipay and Pretium. Not only is Celo now among the most used chains for payments, it's usage continues to grow unabated.

Sustained Performance: Seeing sustained transaction throughput of 80+ TPS, with validators seamlessly keeping up, has been an incredible testament to the network’s robustness and scalability.

Celo as a Cultural Extension of Ethereum: In my recent article, Celo as a Cultural Extension of Ethereum, I explored how the Celo ecosystem aligns with and extends Ethereum’s values and technology. The transition to an Ethereum L2 is rooted in our return home to Ethereum, allowing us to fully embrace and contribute to its ecosystem. This perspective underscores how our collaboration with Ethereum amplifies our collective impact and inspires our future direction.

Collaboration and Community

We’ve been deeply inspired by the contributions of the Celo community. Your ideas, feedback, and active participation have been instrumental in shaping this year’s successes. From developers building impactful dApps to validators ensuring network security, your efforts embody the collaborative spirit of Celo.

Looking Ahead

The year ahead promises to be one of the most exciting in Celo’s history. The transition to an Ethereum L2—a journey we’ve worked so tirelessly on this year—will unlock unprecedented opportunities. It will open doors for developers to innovate faster, enable users to experience seamless and secure interactions, and amplify Celo’s impact on critical global issues like climate action, financial inclusion, and regenerative finance.

We’re entering 2025 with a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm. The groundwork laid in 2024 sets the stage for a transformative year where Celo will not only expand its technological boundaries but also continue to push the frontier of meaningful, real-world impact. Together, we will make 2025 the year where everything we’ve worked so hard for becomes a reality.

Thank you for being an integral part of this journey. Your passion and dedication are what make the Celo ecosystem thrive. As we step into 2025, let’s continue building with purpose and collaboration, staying true to our vision of creating prosperity for all.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a prosperous new year.

With gratitude and optimism,

Marek Olszewski
CEO, cLabs