Fostering the Growth of Celo Ecosystem Projects

The Celo Foundation, on Wednesday, declared that Google Cloud has become an official validator on the Celo network, an endeavor set to enhance the security and stability of the network. This exciting step forward is a part of the ongoing alliance between Google Cloud and the Celo Foundation, publicly announced in April. 

Their joint aim is to foster the growth of sustainability-centered startups within the Celo ecosystem, provide robust cloud infrastructure to help scale Web3 applications and support the Celo Foundation's Founders Programs. Further, the collaboration ensures that Google Cloud is the long-term cloud provider for cLabs, the core contributor of the Celo ecosystem. 

“Google Cloud and the Celo Foundation have a shared mission to leverage blockchain technology and innovation to bolster sustainable solutions for everyday people and the planet,” says Xochitl Cazador, the Celo Foundation’s Head of Ecosystem Growth. “The Celo community is honored to have Google Cloud choose us, highlighting a mutual commitment to the broader adoption of Web3 tools and for scalable, real-world solutions.”

Google Cloud's journey into blockchain validation places them amongst a diverse global cohort of validators. This includes telco giant Deutsche Telekom and ecosystem participants like impactMarket, a protocol dedicated to human empowerment. These diverse entities validate the Celo platform in a combined effort to bring blockchain technology into the mainstream and reach a billion people.

“At Google Cloud, we’re focused on strengthening the Web3 ecosystem by offering founders and developers the tools they need to scale their applications,” said Carlos Arena, Director, Digital Assets, Google Cloud. “Running a validator on the Celo network builds on our collaboration with the Celo Foundation, and we look forward to helping to enable the growth of the network.”

Celo Confirms Transition to Ethereum Layer2 for More Scalability

In a recent community-led vote, cLabs' proposal to transition Celo from an independent layer-1 blockchain to an Ethereum layer-2 solution received unanimous support. This transition promises to bring enhanced scalability, security and offer more real-world use cases to the Ethereum ecosystem. 

This proposed upgrade comes with advanced technical features, including a decentralized sequencer powered by Celo's validator set, and off-chain data availability via EigenLayer.

To facilitate this transition to the Ethereum ecosystem, cLabs will employ Google Cloud's Blockchain Node Engine, a fully managed node-hosting service. The Node Engine will handle time-consuming node operations for the Celo network participants, ensuring transactions are reliably and securely relayed, thus paving the way for the emergence of Celo 2.0 in harmony with the Ethereum network and community.

Celo Foundation Commits to Supporting the Best Projects 

The thriving Celo ecosystem comprises over 1,000 projects spanning more than 150 countries. This includes Decentralized Applications (dApps) like GoodDollar, a universal basic income (UBI) distributor, and community inclusion currencies (CICs) on Grassroots Economics. With 80,000 and 20,000 active users respectively, these apps have a significant global reach and deliver real-world impact.

As a founding partner in Google Cloud's new Web3 startup program, the Celo Foundation remains committed to supporting mission-driven projects. This initiative, launched in April, will provide up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credits and up to $1M in grants from the Celo Foundation over the next two years.

$CELO Experiences Bullish Run 

In the wake of this announcement, Celo's native cryptocurrency, $CELO saw an exceptional surge in the market. CoinMarketCap data revealed a staggering increase in the asset's 24-hour trading volume by over 1000%. Additionally, $CELO experienced a 4.36% increase in value within the last 24 hours, reflecting the positive market response to Google Cloud's new role within the Celo network.

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