Celo is a permissionless blockchain that contributes to its carbon-negative status, with the intention of fostering a more inclusive financial system. It is designed to be accessible to anyone with a mobile phone, aiming to cater to a large global user base. The Celo ecosystem includes a decentralized, proof-of-stake blockchain technology stack (the Celo platform), the CELO governance asset, and several stable assets (cUSD, cEUR, cREAL) that facilitate the use of digital assets. Celo's mainnet was launched on Earth Day 2020, demonstrating its commitment to environmental sustainability. The platform supports a multitude of projects in numerous countries, all with the goal of creating conditions of prosperity.

Celo operates using a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which requires significantly less energy than proof-of-work chains, contributing to its carbon-negative status. The platform supports the CELO governance asset and other ERC-20 stable assets, which can be used to pay for transaction fees. Celo's mobile-first design intends to cater to a large global user base. This includes a light-client syncing mechanism called Plumo, which allows Celo mobile and resource-constrained users to sync to the Celo blockchain faster, using only a few kilobytes of data. The platform also maps encrypted phone numbers to wallet addresses, aiming to simplify transactions on the blockchain for users of all experience levels.

Celo seeks to bring the regenerative finance (ReFi) movement mainstream by accelerating global financial inclusion, community commerce, and climate-positive technology across multiple ecosystems in parallel. Its mobile-first design can help reach a large global user base, aiming to cater to a variety of needs. The platform supports a multitude of projects in numerous countries, all with the goal of creating conditions of prosperity. Celo's features, such as its light-client syncing mechanism and the mapping of encrypted phone numbers to wallet addresses, aim to simplify transactions on the blockchain, potentially enabling a variety of use cases.

Celo was co-founded in 2017 by Rene Reinsberg, Marek Olszewski, and Sep Kamvar. Rene Reinsberg is now the President of the Celo Foundation, while Marek Olszewski serves as the current Chief Technology Officer at cLabs. Sep Kamvar is a computer scientist, artist, and former professor at MIT Media Lab. The open-source Celo mainnet was launched on Earth Day 2020, demonstrating the platform's commitment to environmental sustainability. Today, the platform supports a multitude of projects in numerous countries, all with the goal of creating conditions of prosperity.