Proposal to Enhance CELO Token Value Amid Growing User Base and Transactions

Governance
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Dear Celo Team,I’m a big fan of the Celo project and have been following its progress closely. You’ve built something truly innovative: a mobile-first blockchain with stablecoins that make DeFi accessible, especially in emerging markets. The growth in users, transactions, TVL, and ecosystem adoption (like Valora and partnerships) is impressive and shows real-world utility.However, I’ve noticed that despite this momentum, the CELO token price hasn’t reflected the project’s success. Metrics like daily active users and transaction volume are rising, but token holders aren’t seeing proportional benefits. I believe this could be addressed with targeted tokenomics improvements to create more demand and reduce supply.Here are some ideas I’d love to see discussed in a governance proposal:Token Buyback Program: Allocate a portion of protocol revenues (e.g., from transaction fees or stablecoin reserves) to buy back CELO tokens on the open market. This would directly support the price and reward long-term holders.

Token Burning Mechanism: Enhance existing burns by tying them to transaction volume or stablecoin usage. For example, Due to the 90% commission rate that goes back into the ecosystem, some of it is bought back into the tokens and burned.

Increased Utility and Incentives: Make CELO more integral to the ecosystem—offer fee discounts for payments in CELO, higher staking rewards, or revenue sharing for holders. This could boost holding and reduce selling pressure.

Liquidity and Marketing Boost: Provide incentives for liquidity providers on major DEXes and run campaigns to highlight CELO’s role in the project’s growth.

These changes could align token value with the ecosystem’s success, attracting more investors and users. I’d be happy to contribute to a forum discussion or even help draft a formal proposal on the Celo Forum.What are your thoughts? Is there an ongoing discussion on this?Best regards,

My x - @Dmitrii007s

3 Likes
Celo Tokenomics Discussion Thread
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I honestly believe that there is need for major changes if we want to bring the token price where it belongs.

  1. Stop paying validators in cUSD, pay them in CELO
  2. All ecosystem expenses should be paid through gas fees. Gas fees shall be collected and pay the Ethereum costs first. Whatever remains shall be distributed between validators, CELO treasury, clabs, carbon offset and buyback to burn.
  3. Stop the dilution, burn the remaining 400M remaining CELO tokens.

This shall lead to a reduced number of validators and a sustainable and efficient use of the available resources.

4 Likes
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I would not burn the 400 million tokens, as they are an important reserve for Celo. However, the current token price is not only frustrating for investors, but especially for Celo itself. Through the monthly token unlocks, much more money could be raised than is currently the case. Mechanisms need to be developed that either increase the usage and thus the demand for the token within the network, or the supply must be reduced, for example through a burn mechanism that burns a portion of the fees. In the medium term, inflation should be overcompensated to initiate a deflationary development, which could significantly increase the value of the token and the reserve in the long term.