Celo Core Co. has proposed transferring 160 million CELO tokens from the protocol's unreleased treasury to Opera, marking the largest governance proposal in Celo's history. The allocation, detailed in a forum post on Thursday, aims to convert the existing high-performing partnership—centered around Opera's Minipay wallet—into a long-term, incentive-aligned network stake. At a 30-day average price near $0.0771, the 160 million CELO carries an estimated value of roughly $12.3 million, though the significance lies more in strategic alignment than dollar terms.
Minipay's Success Drives the Proposal
Opera launched Minipay in 2023 as a self-custodial wallet focused on mobile-first payments and real-world use cases. Since then, Minipay has become a major driver of on-chain activity on Celo, with over 13 million activated wallets, hundreds of millions of transactions, and operations spanning more than 60 countries, according to proposal figures. Celo Core Co. argues that the existing system of quarterly funding proposals has become inefficient, creating governance fatigue and limiting long-term planning. The proposed shift replaces these recurring requests with a single allocation tied to performance expectations and ecosystem growth metrics, including user expansion, Mini App adoption, transaction volume, stablecoin flows, and geographic growth across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
Governance Safeguards and Stakeholder Alignment
Under the plan, Opera would transition from a distribution partner into a full network stakeholder, committing to hold CELO as a reserve asset while continuing to build out Minipay’s functionality (onramps, bridging, Mini Apps, and potential crypto-linked payment cards). To prevent outsized influence, Opera's voting power would be capped at 10% of total staked CELO, except in protocol emergencies. The allocation itself is sizable: representing roughly 16% of Celo's maximum supply and more than a quarter of circulating tokens, positioning Opera as one of the network’s largest stakeholders if approved.
Broader Ecosystem Shifts and Immediate Market Reaction
The proposal also reflects a broader trend in blockchain ecosystems, transitioning from early-stage grant funding to deeper, equity-like partnerships designed to align incentives between protocols and major distribution channels. Opera has already integrated Tether Gold (XAU₮) and USDT into Minipay to expand dollar and gold-denominated access in emerging markets. For Celo, the bet is straightforward: convert its most effective growth engine into a long-term stakeholder and reduce governance overhead. The price of CELO jumped more than 2.5% after the announcement. The proposal remains in the discussion phase and would require community approval through Celo’s governance process before any transfer is executed.