Celo, an Ethereum layer 2 chain, has introduced a new governance proposal to allocate 160 million CELO tokens to Opera, aiming to transition the browser company from a distribution partner into a long-term network stakeholder.
The proposal follows the recent unification of cLabs and the Celo Foundation into Celo Core Co., a move designed to streamline development and execution across the ecosystem. If approved, the one-time transfer would come from Celo’s unreleased treasury and support a three-year partnership aligned with long-term network growth.
Celo, now a Layer 2 chain, is focused on mobile-first payments and real-world financial use cases, with a strong emphasis on stablecoins, low-cost transactions, and accessibility in emerging markets. The network has positioned itself as infrastructure for global payments, particularly across regions such as Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
The proposal builds on Celo’s ongoing partnership with Opera through MiniPay, a self-custodial stablecoin wallet integrated into Opera Mini. The product has grown to more than 13 million users across 66 countries, with over 700,000 daily active users and more than 4.2 million weekly active users, making it one of the largest distribution channels for onchain financial activity.
Under the new structure, Opera would receive the CELO allocation into a controlled wallet and commit to holding the asset long term, aligning its incentives with the network’s success. Governance influence tied to these holdings would be capped at 10% of total staked CELO, except in emergency scenarios.
The shift replaces a recurring funding model that required quarterly governance approvals with a one-time allocation, reducing operational overhead and allowing both parties to focus on scaling adoption. The proposal also reinforces Opera’s role in driving user growth through MiniPay’s expanding ecosystem of mini apps, which includes use cases such as payments, gold purchases, and prediction markets.
Opera’s distribution reach is seen as a key advantage. The company provides access to hundreds of millions of users globally, including tens of millions of Opera Mini users that can be onboarded into crypto services. Celo said strengthening this relationship is critical to accelerating real-world usage of stablecoins and onchain financial tools.
The partnership is expected to expand across priority markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, while supporting new product initiatives such as crypto-linked payment cards, onramps, and merchant integrations. The proposal also outlines performance metrics tied to user growth, transaction volume, and ecosystem expansion.