TLDR:
Announcing the Jello Hardfork, the Celo network upgrade that will bring OP Succinct Lite and ZK proofs to Celo mainnet. Jello has been activated on Celo Sepolia today, and will come to mainnet in November. The upgrade is entirely on the proposer side. Full nodes do not need to take action.
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Dear Celo community,
Following the successful launch of the Eclair Testnet, which introduced Succinct’s ZK Fault Proofs and EigenDA v2, the cLabs team is excited to share the next major milestone in Celo’s evolution as an Ethereum Layer 2 built for real-world payments.
The Jello Hardfork is here.
OP Succinct Lite is now live on Celo Sepolia, bringing the network one step closer to deploying the upgrade on Mainnet in the coming weeks.
This milestone marks a critical advancement in Celo’s roadmap to become the most performant and secure Ethereum-aligned L2 optimized for stablecoin and mobile transactions worldwide.
Introduction and Context
The Jello Hardfork builds directly on the foundation established by the Eclair Testnet. The Eclair phase validated integration between OP Succinct Lite and EigenDA v2, demonstrating the effectiveness of zero-knowledge (ZK) fault proofs in improving scalability, cost efficiency, and security.
Now, Jello extends that progress to Celo Sepolia, with the full OP Succinct Lite implementation live and a Mainnet upgrade on the horizon.
What’s New in Jello
The Jello Hardfork introduces:
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Official integration of OP Succinct Lite fault proofs on Celo Sepolia
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Enhanced dispute resolution powered by ZK-based fault proofs
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Continued support for EigenDA v2 as the data availability layer, with new ZK proofs that can prove that data has been posted to EigenDA
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Fulfillment of L2Beat criteria for decentralized fault-proof operation
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Stability improvements, bug fixes, and performance enhancements since the Eclair Testnet phase
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Continued support for Celo EVM extensions like token duality and fee abstraction (native support for paying for gas with tokens)
Together, these upgrades represent a major advancement in Celo’s modular stack, combining ZK-powered security, Optimism’s Kona execution engine, and EigenDA’s scalable throughput into a cohesive architecture.
Why It Matters
OP Succinct Lite brings faster, cheaper, and more reliable verification for Layer 2 activity:
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Faster and low cost dispute resolution: Proofs are only generated when needed, reducing cost
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Non-interactive proofs: Simplified and efficient dispute resolution with minimal overhead and shorter duration
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ZK security guarantees: Strengthening Celo’s alignment with Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap
For stablecoin and payment applications, where speed, cost, and reliability are essential, this upgrade provides the foundation for seamless global value transfer on-chain.
Timeline and Upgrade Process
Eclair Testnet Recap
Eclair testnet demonstrated the successful integration of OP Succinct Lite and EigenDA v2 under production-like conditions, validating performance and stability goals.
Next Phase: The Jello Hardfork
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Live now on Celo Sepolia
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Mainnet activation: Tentatively scheduled for November, following final test validation
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Preparation: No action is required at this stage. The Jello upgrade will be automatically activated via a smart contract switch and an updated proposer once the hardfork is activated. Full nodes do not need to take action.
The transition is designed to be smooth and non-disruptive, with full backward compatibility for users and applications.
In preparation for this hardfork on the Celo Sepolia testnet, we have also sunset the Celo Eclair testnet.
How to Get Involved
For those interested in learning more, technical documentation and release details are available on docs.celo.org and the official GitHub repository. Community members are encouraged to share feedback and observations in this thread as the team monitors post-upgrade performance and to participate in the governance process by reviewing and voting on the Jello Hardfork proposal once it goes live. Your participation helps ensure transparency, accountability, and community consensus as Celo advances toward a modular, Ethereum-aligned future.
Looking Ahead
The Jello Hardfork represents another step toward a fully modular, Ethereum-aligned rollup architecture for Celo, meeting L2Beat’s decentralization standards while preserving Celo’s focus on mobile-first payments.
The cLabs team, along with partners at Succinct, EigenLabs, and Optimism, continues to collaborate closely to push the boundaries of secure, scalable, and affordable Layer 2 infrastructure.
Closing
The cLabs team thanks the Celo community and ecosystem partners for their continued collaboration, testing, and feedback as these upgrades move forward.
Jello marks another key milestone toward a modular and Ethereum-aligned future for Celo, delivering faster, lower-cost infrastructure to power the next generation of global payments.
In line with standard practice for major network upgrades, the cLabs team has notified the Celo Security Council of the Jello Hardfork activation on Celo Sepolia and the upcoming Mainnet deployment.
The cLabs team