Dear Celo community,
Following the recent announcement that USA₮ will launch on Celo, we are proposing that both USA₮ and XAU₮0 (Tether Gold) be added as approved gas currencies on Celo.
As the first network beyond Ethereum to support USA₮, Celo is well positioned to make this new regulated digital dollar immediately usable for real-world payments, savings, and onchain financial activity. At the same time, enabling XAU₮0 as a gas currency would expand Celo’s asset-native user experience beyond stablecoins, CELO, and WETH, allowing users to transact directly in tokenized gold as well.
Adding USA₮ and XAU₮0 as gas currencies would allow users to pay transaction fees directly in the assets they hold, further extending Celo’s stablecoin and real-world asset-native user experience and reducing friction for new and existing users alike.
Background
USA₮ recently announced its forthcoming deployment on Celo, marking the first expansion of the asset beyond Ethereum and bringing a federally regulated digital dollar to an ecosystem already built around real-world stablecoin usage.
This proposal also includes XAU₮0, Tether Gold, which brings tokenized exposure to physical gold onchain. Together, these assets would expand the range of usable, real-world denominated assets on Celo and reinforce the network’s position as a home for practical onchain financial activity.
The launch reflects continued momentum in Celo’s broader stablecoin and real-world asset ecosystem and aligns with the network’s long-standing focus on making digital assets more accessible, usable, and practical for everyday financial activity.
As part of the announcement, it was noted that governance is expected to begin the process of enabling USA₮ as a gas currency on Celo. This proposal is intended to begin that process, while also extending the same usability model to XAU₮0.
Proposal
This proposal recommends adding USA₮ and XAU₮0 to the list of approved gas currencies on Celo. We propose doing so as two CGPs with two onchain voting rounds, one for each asset.
If both proposals are approved, users would be able to:
- Pay gas fees directly in USA₮ or XAU₮0
- Send, receive, and use these assets without first needing to acquire CELO for transaction fees
- Benefit from a simpler onboarding experience for stablecoin-first and asset-native use cases
- Access a more intuitive experience for payments, savings, and other onchain financial activity
Why This Matters
1. It makes USA₮ and XAU₮0 immediately usable on Celo
Celo’s gas currency model is one of the network’s most important user experience advantages. It allows users to transact in the assets they already hold, rather than requiring a separate volatile asset solely for gas.
For users whose primary interaction with the network is through stablecoins or store-of-value assets, this removes a meaningful source of friction. Enabling USA₮ and XAU₮0 as gas currencies ensures that users entering the ecosystem through either a regulated digital dollar or tokenized gold can use those assets directly from day one.
2. It strengthens Celo’s asset-native UX
Celo has consistently prioritized real-world usability over complexity. Fee abstraction is a core part of that design, helping make onchain activity more intuitive for mobile-first and payments-focused users.
Adding USA₮ and XAU₮0 as gas currencies continues that approach by extending the same usability to assets designed for real-world financial use cases, whether dollar-denominated or gold-denominated.
3. It supports the next phase of stablecoin and real-world asset adoption on Celo
The arrival of USA₮ on Celo is more than just another asset deployment. It brings a new form of regulated digital dollar infrastructure to a network already optimized for low-cost, mobile-first, global financial activity.
Including XAU₮0 alongside USA₮ broadens that vision by adding a widely recognized tokenized real-world asset. By enabling both as gas currencies, Celo can ensure these assets are not only available on the network, but fully usable in the way Celo was designed to operate: with seamless, asset-native interactions that better match how users actually transact and save.
Expected Impact
If approved, enabling USA₮ and XAU₮0 as gas currencies is expected to:
- Reduce friction for users entering the ecosystem through USA₮ or XAU₮0, e.g. by allowing users to send these assets to new users in a way that makes it possible for these new users to immediately transact with their newly minted wallets
- Improve retention for payment-focused and savings-oriented applications, for example if someone converts all their stablecoins into XAU₮0, they won’t be stuck without a way to continue to transact on the network
- Increase the utility of both assets across wallets, apps, and consumer-facing experiences on Celo
- Reinforce Celo’s differentiation as a network purpose-built for stablecoin usage and real-world financial activity
- Support continued growth in asset-denominated onchain activity
As more users interact with Celo through stable assets and real-world assets, enabling them to pay gas in those same assets remains one of the clearest ways to improve usability without changing application behavior.
Considerations
As with any new gas currency addition, implementation should ensure:
- Reliable oracle pricing and exchange rate support where required
- Sufficient liquidity and operational readiness across the ecosystem
- Compatibility with existing wallet and infrastructure integrations
- Standard review of security, technical, and economic considerations associated with adding new gas currencies
Conclusion
Celo has long believed that users should not need to hold a separate volatile asset just to participate in an onchain economy.
The upcoming deployment of USA₮ on Celo is an important milestone that brings a regulated digital dollar to a network already leading in real-world stablecoin usage. Adding XAU₮0 alongside it would further extend that model to tokenized gold, broadening the types of real-world assets that can be used seamlessly onchain.
Enabling USA₮ and XAU₮0 as gas currencies is the natural next step. This proposal would extend Celo’s fee abstraction model to two important real-world assets, reduce friction for users, and further strengthen Celo’s position as the leading network for real-world stablecoin and asset adoption.
We welcome community feedback and discussion prior to onchain submission.