Celo Colombia at Blockchain Summit Latam 2025: Stablecoins, Regulation and Hackathon

[CeloColombiano]

From November 12 to 14, 2025, Medellín became the epicenter of the regional Web3 conversation during a new edition of Blockchain Summit Latam (BSL), held at EAFIT University.

Nearly 2,000 attendees gathered to explore topics such as regulation, asset tokenization, and the growing role of stablecoins in Latin America.

This year was special because the event featured a keynote by Dr. Leonardo Villar, General Manager of the Central Bank of Colombia, who spoke about blockchain market regulation and the viability of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Colombia.

For Celo Colombia, this edition was especially meaningful. We joined as an official sponsor, participated in strategic panels, led workshops, contributed to the FinHub Hackathon, and the event issued its digital attendance certificates on Celo using POAPs. A total of 112 collectors captured 56 unforgettable moments.

Here is a summary of everything we achieved during one of the most active weeks of the ecosystem in Colombia

Panel Participation: Regulation, Tokenization and the Future of Stablecoins

Throughout the three days of Blockchain Summit Latam, Celo Colombia took part in key conversations about the future of the industry.

Regulatory convergence: Celo’s voice in the global debate

@ximemonclou joined a panel on regulatory convergence with experts from Latin America, the United States, and the European Union, sharing insights on:

• Regulatory frameworks that enable innovation
• The importance of interoperable standards
• The role of stablecoins in the digital economy of emerging markets

This was an important space to highlight Celo’s vision as an open, mobile-first infrastructure focused on impact and financial inclusion.

Stablecoins as infrastructure: Colombia at the forefront

Another highlight was the panel featuring @0xj4an, focused on why stablecoins are no longer just financial instruments, but core infrastructure for payments, remittances, and interoperability.

The session showcased how Colombia is strategically positioned to lead this shift, thanks to:

• The development of cCOP, the first decentralized Colombian Peso backed stablecoin on the Celo network
• The support of Mento Labs, the protocol that powers Celo stablecoins, using cryptoassets as collateral
• The growing ecosystem of solutions built on chains like Celo, including TuCOP

Workshop: Building Simplicity with TuCOP and cCOP

As part of the educational agenda, the TuCOP team led a workshop each day of the event titled “Building Simplicity: Learn to Use TuCOP and cCOP”.

In this hands-on session, participants learned:

• How TuCOP works as a digital wallet built on Celo
• How it integrates with cCOP, the decentralized stablecoin pegged to the Colombian peso
• How to send, receive, save, and even invest from their phone in minutes
• Why these tools are transforming digital payments and creating new opportunities across Colombia and Latin America

The workshop became one of the event’s most attended sessions, showing the strong interest in simple, real, ready-to-use Web3 tools.

FinHub Hackathon: Building the MVPs of the Future on Celo

The Summit also hosted the FinHub Hackathon, which kept the momentum high with more than 48 hours of nonstop innovation.

Celo Colombia participated as a special category sponsor, offering prizes to teams building projects on the Celo network.

With support from @sandusky, we assisted participants by guiding them through:

• Idea formation and product models
• Technical challenges
• Integration of Celo ecosystem tools
• Launching functional MVPs

The talent and creativity shown by the teams confirmed that the region is ready to build scalable, impactful Web3 solutions focused on real user needs.

Celo Colombia Booth

Throughout the three days, Ana (@0xflypeztic) and Waira (@WairaTamayo) hosted the official Celo Colombia + Self + Mento Labs booth. It became a meeting point for:

• Learning about the Celo ecosystem
• Understanding how cCOP works and the roles of Mento Labs and Self Protocol
• Exploring real use cases in payments, remittances, and commerce
• Getting technical guidance on how to build on Celo

And of course, we shared plenty of merch.

Digital Attendance Certificate: A POAP Built on Celo

As official sponsors, we were also responsible for issuing the event’s digital attendance certificate through POAP. This demonstrated once again why Celo is ideal for use cases that require:

• High demand
• Low costs
• Fast and verifiable minting
• Simple user experiences for non technical audiences

Another example of how Celo’s mobile-friendly and efficient infrastructure enables real world solutions.

Special Thanks and Next Steps

We thank BSL organization for inviting us to be part of this edition of Blockchain Summit Latam, which has also been held in Chile, Panama, and Bogotá.

The lessons, connections, and outcomes motivate us to keep building in Colombia and across the region. We shared many of these insights in a recent X Space on December 3, led by Sebastián Ramírez (@0xSebasDev): https://x.com/i/spaces/1djGXWdAaANKZ

We are already thinking about the next edition, new workshops, hackathons, and opportunities to drive:

• Adoption of cCOP
• Growth of applications built on Celo
• The development of new builders
• Strengthening Web3 communities in Latin America

We continue moving toward a more accessible, open, and user friendly digital economy for everyone

[Julian0xsoul]

Amazing recap of the event

I also had the chance to use cCOP through TuCOP, and what really stood out to me was how easy it was to share the experience with others. I even showed the app to my wife, and she was able to make her first payment without any trouble, super intuitive and fast

I recorded a short video showing how simple the flow is and how cCOP is already enabling real use cases in Colombia. Sharing it here in case anyone wants to check it out:
0xSoulChain

What the ecosystem is building in Colombia is starting to feel truly tangible and useful for everyday people

[Ximemonclou]

The excitement is absolute! I’m incredibly proud that the Blockchain Summit Latam has chosen my city, Medellín , as its host. Medellín, the city of eternal spring, the city where I live. This event is not only the most important in the region but also a testament to the growth of the local ecosystem.

I want to specially highlight two key points:

Sponsor relevance: I’m thrilled to see the active participation and support from high-impact projects like @CeloColombiano Their presence, not just as a sponsor but as a key player at the event, validates the seriousness and scope of the summit.

The role of academia: The alliance with a prestigious institution like EAFIT University is fundamental. The inclusion of a high-level academic space in these conversations is vital for the responsible adoption and regulation of topics such as stablecoins, CBDCs, tokenization, and crypto assets.

These gatherings are the way forward to drive innovation with solid foundations in Colombia.

See you at the next Blockchain Summit Latam!

[SebitasDev]

Incredible event and participation from the Celo Colombia team. Their initiative to sponsor the hackathon held recently continues to demonstrate the work Celo does in Colombia and how Celo Colombia seeks to further promote the community. Although I couldn’t attend in person because I was in Argentina, I was able to organize the X-Space in X, where we had a community chat with the event attendees.

[WairaTamayo]

It was a privilege to support and participate in Blockchain Summit Latam 2025 at the Celo Colombia booth.
I had the opportunity to help with the workshops, the hackathon, and booth activities, sharing information about the Celo ecosystem and guiding attendees on how to use and mint POAPs.

It was a great experience, both for the learning and for connecting with the community and seeing the genuine interest in Celo’s solutions.
Thank you to the team for the trust and for creating these spaces to keep growing the ecosystem in Colombia and across the region.

[camilosaka]

Great recap! It was amazing to see Celo Colombia engage with regulators, builders, and the broader Web3 community at Blockchain Summit Latam. The discussions on stablecoins, regulation, and real-world tools like cCOP and TuCOP show how the Celo ecosystem is advancing financial inclusion across Latin America. Looking forward to more collaborations and follow-ups from the hackathon and workshops!