Celo Community Approves Migration to Optimism’s OP Stack for Layer-2 Network on Ethereum

The Celo community has approved the usage of Optimism’s OP Stack technology to migrate its existing standalone blockchain onto a layer-2 network running on top of Ethereum. This decision, put forward on May 3, received overwhelming support, with 65 addresses representing 14.6 million CELO tokens endorsing the move, while only two addresses with 20,484 CELO votes abstained. Due to the significance of this transformation, it will not be implemented automatically, but rather after the required upgrades are carried out by Celo’s validators. This decision comes after Celo’s principal developer, cLabs, suggested adopting OP Stack as the main technology for its new habitat back in April. Celo had been examining alternative customizable stack technologies from multiple layer-2 teams during the past few months. However, because of the intense interest generated, this process resembled that of a reality dating show called ‘The Bachelorette’. Previously, in July 2021, Celo had declared its intention to join the wider Ethereum ecosystem as a layer-2 chain, transforming from its current status as a layer-1 chain. Nevertheless, the contest became heated when Arbitrum Orbit, zkSync’s ZK Stack, and Polygon CDK all vied to supply technology to Celo. Ultimately, Celo opted to stick with its initial choice, as per the proposition, which noted: “The OP Stack largely provides what is necessary to deploy an L2. Minimal changes are necessary to accommodate Celo’s distinctive characteristics.” Read more: Celo Picks Optimism, Bringing Layer 2 Competition to a Close. UPDATE (17:36 UTC): Includes statement that Celo’s actual shift to a layer-2 network on top of Ethereum will not come into effect until the necessary upgrades are executed by the blockchain’s validators.