Is CELO a Good Investment?

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Contributor, Benzinga
April 20, 2022

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What is CELO?

Celo is a proof-of-stake payment platform for stablecoins – some of which include cUSD and cEUR – and a native token – CELO – used for governance and as a way of investing in the platform’s success. Notably, Celo uses a distinct network to Ethereum and Bitcoin, though it also has an ERC-20 token representation.

As a cryptocurrency platform, Celo is unique in terms of its focus on smartphone users, especially at the point where users can use their phone numbers as public keys. In this sense, Celo is very explicitly aiming to be a hardware-agnostic mobile decentralized finance (DeFi) platform in the same sense that Telegram is a hardware-agnostic secure messaging platform. To further increase convenience, Celo enables transaction fees to be paid in any currency, with these fees being distributed among the 110 validators that run Celo’s network.

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CELO Price History

Two years on from its launch in April 2020, CELO is currently the 72nd largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $1,399,683,866 USD spread across the circulating supply of 433,213,075 CELO tokens. CELO has a supply cap of 1,000,000,000 tokens to curb inflation in the long term. Currently, one CELO token is worth $3.12, with CELO’s all-time-high value being $7.60 from September 2021 – when almost every other cryptocurrency was riding a massive high as well. Because of these trends, you can fairly accurately determine that CELO’s price is going to follow the same trajectory as the cryptocurrency markets at large, which currently means that Bitcoin and Ethereum implicitly will determine CELO’s long-term price.

Given the crypto collapse of 2022, prices have taken a hit, and CELO is no exception. The token fell below $1, but that doesn’t mean it cannot regain its value in the future. Essentially, investors must decide if they are HODLers or not.

Celo Competition

Celo shares similarities to other protocols and blockchains built with the intention of increasing DeFi adoption using a platform built on a robust stablecoin. Many of these platforms boast similarly fast and cheap proof-of-stake-based blockchains. One platform is Terra, which has existed for longer but has taken a slower, broader approach to an expansion that was initially aimed at Asia. One aspect of comparison between the two projects where Celo came first is in terms of collateralization. By virtue of Terra being so strongly built on the ideal of a purely algorithmic peg, Celo’s Reserve has existed as a metric of stabilizing Celo’s stablecoin pegs long before Terra’s Luna Foundation Guard was established in February 2022. 

An aspect of CELO that measures especially favorably in comparison to its peers is its ease of onboarding. By virtue of public keys being phone numbers, you don’t need to be fully onboarded to receive transactions. This benefit consequently factors into the rate at which CELO can be adopted by the masses, which is important when looking at similar cases like the adoption of one social media platform over another.

How to Buy CELO

CELO can be purchased using fiat currencies at most centralized exchanges (CEXs). Some reputable CEXs that support CELO include eToro, Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), Crypto.com and Voyager. The process for purchasing CELO is similar to that of most other altcoins since you need a verified and adequately funded account with the CELO-supporting trading platform of your choice and will probably want to make a limit order – as opposed to a market order – for CELO at a price that you are comfortable with. 

Best Hardware Wallet for the CELO Token

In order to maximize security for digital asset holdings, you need a cold hardware wallet that is isolated from the internet when not in use. These physical wallets often take on factors similar to external storage drives and run specialized software to be compatible with multiple chains and types of assets.

Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S Plus or Trezor One

Ledger and Trezor are the household names as far as hardware wallets are concerned, with robust support for most tokens and a solid chance at future support for up-and-coming token standards and blockchains. CELO is no exception to this, with full support across Ledger and Trezor’s lineup.

BZ

Bonus Section:

Celo’s development team has committed to numerous improvements in speed and security based on zero knowledge proofs – specifically zk-SNARKS. This, along with the strength of the Celo reserve, bodes well for Celo as a mainstream payment platform.

Cryptocurrency Market Outlook

The cryptocurrency market can be very volatile, especially for coins like CELO – altcoins and coins tied to stablecoins. Multiple factors lie behind this, ranging from stablecoin regulations to other stablecoins depegging to hacks to general bull market factors. While some investors believe the token can push toward $8 by 2027, but there are others who think it will top out at around $3 by 2025. Because the sector is so volatile, you must carefully research your investments before making a purchase.

Is CELO a Good Investment?

Despite potential volatility, Celo conceptually is a solid project for the entirety of the Web3 and crypto space, with it ultimately aiming to become the WhatsApp of DeFi. Currently, the Celo Foundation continues innovating with Celo’s development targeting scalability and adoption, and the Celo reserve also remains stable, helping to guarantee the value of the stablecoins that Celo’s ecosystem ultimately depends on. As with all cryptocurrency investments, caution and restraint must be exercised, but CELO is an investment with solid potential for the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Are cryptocurrencies a good investment?

A

Cryptocurrencies can be a good investment, but you must properly research and budget for your investments ahead of time. Remember, you should not invest any money you are not prepared to lose, given that all investments involve risk.

Q

Can you make a profit on CELO?

A

Yes, you can make a profit on CELO, but you must choose the appropriate investment strategy for your situation and budget accordingly.

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Aadharsh Pannirselvam

About Aadharsh Pannirselvam

Aadharsh Pannirselvam is a student at the University of Chicago studying Economics and Data Science while building with Blockchain Chicago and the Chicago DAO. Aadharsh works on creating easily digestible web3 and DeFi content at Benzinga while learning off of the bleeding edges of blockchains and digital assets and exploring a career in the space. He holds positions in Ethereum, Bitcoin, and various other DeFi protocols and ecosystems. Aadharsh was previously affiliated with Flipside Crypto and is currently affiliated with Galaxy Digital. Aadharsh’s opinions are his own and not financial advice. The best way to get in touch with Aadharsh is via Twitter, @aadharsh2010 or via LinkedIn.