Celo Posts 22.7% Rally on $20M Fund Launch

Celo is outpacing most other assets in the market. 

Celo Hits Three-Month High 

Celo, the Layer 1 blockchain focused on “mobile-first” DeFi, is soaring. 

The CELO token is up 22.7% today and briefly hit a 12-week high of $5.22. It’s since cooled off, trading at $4.87 at press time. 

Per data from CoinGecko, CELO has jumped 68.8% in the last 14 days amid a new wave of momentum in the market. Although it’s still around 50% off its August 2021 high, it’s is currently taking the lead in a market that’s showing hints of returning to its former strength. Several other Layer 1 tokens, such as Solana, Terra, Avalanche, and NEAR, have also enjoyed rallies in recent weeks. 

Unlike most other major Layer 1 networks, Celo is hoping to usher in mass adoption for crypto sectors like DeFi and NFTs by optimizing for mobile utility. One of its major backers is Deutsche Telekom, and it’s also received funding from Andreessen Horowitz and other crypto-native firms. 

While Celo has had an uptick over the past few weeks, one reason for the latest surge might be the Celo Foundation’s announcement of “Connect the World,” a $20 million fund aiming to improve onramps and offramps for crypto users. The foundation is offering incentives to payment providers who integrate its new FiatConnect service, which will help users convert fiat money to crypto assets. 

The Celo Foundation announced the new fund on the first day of Celo Connect, a two-day conference that started Monday in Barcelona. The conference is mainly focusing on the Layer 1 blockchain’s ecosystem, with other developments from the event, including a new DAO partnership with PrimeDAO. The event wraps up today. 

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned NEAR, ETH, and several other cryptocurrencies.