Updates on Celo Governance Evolution and Roadmap

Governance
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Dear Celo community,

Earlier this year, Celo Foundation launched Governance Evolution, a workstream aimed at improving how governance functions at Celo — with a focus on increasing transparency, alignment, and coordination around how we use our shared resources.

Governance Evolution is an ongoing process and is part of our commitment to gradual decentralization, inspired by Ethereum Foundation’s philosophy of long-term thinking, subtraction, and stewardship of values. We believe that governance is living, iterative, and ultimately shaped by many contributors. To put this into practice we’ve been engaging with stakeholders across the ecosystem, surfacing feedback through hosting open sessions, and co-developing the foundational elements needed to improve Celo Governance long-term. In this post, I hope to share what we’ve been working on so far and what is coming up on the governance roadmap.

Introducing Season 0

The primary objective of this governance evolution is to shift Celo’s governance to a seasonal cadence. We launched Season 0 to prepare the ecosystem for this shift by establishing a shared structure and setting expectations. For this season, we set a number of deliverables and here is how we worked towards fulfilling them:

  • Communicating a clear governance timeline — A major milestone from Season 0 was coordinating all existing partners to align on a shared timeline and structure, something that hadn’t existed in a formalized way before. This foundation will allow Celo governance to have more predictability and allow our ecosystem partners to focus on building. With Season 0 coming to a close, we are in the process of kicking off a community-wide retrospective, another new process that is inspired by the need to increase transparency and accountability.

  • Creating multiple avenues for community feedback — Presented progress on governance calls, engaged with community members in 1:1’s and small groups, established a Feedback Committee with 30+ people, hosted open feedback sessions on June 3rd and June 5th, and gathered valuable feedback on the Intent setting process.

  • Building strong bridges between Celo Foundation and community initiatives — Held weekly calls with community partners, including CeloPG, Regional Council, Prezenti, Celo Camp, and Opera to share valuable context and work towards shared goals.

  • Setting up initial frameworks to guide capital allocation during Seasons — currently in progress: sharing a draft of a community-wide Intent and Budget for Season 1.

    • Intent is a document that will outline the goals for the next 6 months (July–December).
    • Budget will provide guidance for onchain treasury spending for different categories to work towards the goals outlined in Intent.

  • Ratify changes through onchain governance — upcoming: posting a proposal, discussing on a governance call, and submitting for onchain governance to ratify Intent and Budget for Season 1.

Prior to this effort, we heard concerns from members in our community that governance wasn’t working as intended — it can be hard to navigate, unstructured, and disconnected from real impact. We took this feedback into a workshop at the Celo Foundation offsite during Devcon 2024 and it resulted in creating a governance evolution workstream. We prioritized these particular deliverables for Season 0 because they address top concerns by providing clarity, coordination, and space for iteration to adjust priorities in future seasons with community feedback.

What makes up Celo Governance today

Celo Governance is how we collectively make decisions to grow a thriving ecosystem around the Celo protocol. When we say ecosystem, we’re referring to the builders, companies, users, and other community partners and participants that contribute to the growth of Celo’s onchain economy.

Celo Governance is made up of several types of proposals, including technical proposals, ecosystem funding proposals, and Mento governance proposals. Funding proposals allow us, as Celo ecosystem members, to coordinate our shared resources and contribute to furthering our goals of growing the Celo Ecosystem.

Diving another layer deeper, Governance at Celo is made up of:

  • Technical protocol: governance smart contracts and interfaces like Celo Mondo that make it possible to have proposal submission, voting, and execution
  • Social protocol: norms and practices for how we engage with governance, including forum discussion, feedback processes, delegation, engaging in voting
  • Metagovernance: contributors and workstreams that help operationalize existing governance process and work on iteration of governance design

Governance evolution is an example of metagovernance at work that will have an impact on both the social protocol and potentially parts of the technical protocol with future potential deliverables including updates to Celo Mondo or other governance tooling.

The primary way it will influence the social protocol is by adding structure to the governance process in the form of Seasons. Technical proposals will continue to align with the engineering timeline driven by cLabs, and therefore can be submitted as necessary. However, the funding proposals, if ratified by governance, will correspond to the Seasonal cadence to give predictability and deeper alignment to our ecosystem.

Contributors to Celo Governance

Celo Foundation

The Celo Foundation helps facilitate metagovernance by providing coordination, prioritization, and stewarding early versions of the evolving governance process. In my role I have worked closely with many stakeholders to launch this initiative and create the space for gathering and integrating feedback.

Celo Governance Guild

An independent body composed of community contributors, including @0xj4an-work, @0xGoldo, and @Wade. The guild plays an important role in providing checks and balances for the governance process and essential operational support, including:

  • Reviewing and editing proposals, formerly known as CGP editors
  • Supporting proposers through submission and onchain process
  • Hosting governance calls
  • Moderating the Celo Community forum
  • Ensuring transparency and consistency across governance processes

Metagovernance Contributors

In Season 0, a new category of contributors began to take shape: a group focused on improving governance itself.

This metagovernance workstream includes Celo Foundation’s ongoing facilitation and design work in partnership with:

  • Community partners like CeloPG, who have provided key input and are driving key activities that will help us expand metagovernance, including retro contributor rewards and treasury accounting services. Community partners also include Regional Council, Governance Guild, Prezenti, members of cLabs, and others.

  • The Celo Feedback Committee, made up of builders and engaged community members, was formed to evaluate and give feedback on Season 1 Intents and will continue to evolve to support the needs of Intent setting in following seasons.

Part of Season 1 will shift this workstream to focus on improving more aspects of Celo Governance that were out of Season 0 scope, potentially including but not limited to: delegation program, improvements to Celo Mondo, launching or improving new governance tooling, creating more spaces for community to connect, driving value creation and impact evaluation frameworks.These areas surfaced in the sessions hosted with the Feedback Committee.

Metagovernance is about stewarding governance evolution — making sure our structures, tools, and norms are improving in tandem with, and in response to, the ecosystem’s needs. As we formalize this further, I welcome anyone passionate about governance to volunteer to join, give feedback, and help shape the future of this workstream.

Feedback and Potential Metagovernance Actions for Season 1

Last week we hosted two open feedback sessions as part of our commitment to source community input on the Intent (find notes from sessions here), leading to a rich discussion about metagovernance as a whole. Below are some of the proposed ideas that came out of the feedback groups to implement in the future as part of metagovernance:

  • Start with Values — Establish or revisit shared values.
  • Map Key Areas of Governance Work — Create a high-level overview of governance-related tasks and workstreams (including but not limited to intent setting, budgeting, proposal evaluation, values development, and delegation).
  • Organize by Season and Intent — Clarify which governance activities fall under which intents and determine which ones belong in Season 1 vs. future seasons.
  • Draft a Timeline and Ownership Matrix — Plot tasks along a seasonal timeline and identify potential volunteers, contributors, or stewards for each area of work.
  • Develop a Strategic Metagovernance Roadmap — Translate the above into a clear, step-by-step plan to guide governance evolution and avoid misalignment between structure, priorities, and implementation.

Next Steps

The final weeks of Season 0 are dedicated to a retrospective with community initiatives. Retros will be posted on the forum in the new category Transparency & Accountability for everyone to have visibility. Additional efforts closing out Season 0 will be:

  • Finalizing the Intent and Budget frameworks and integrating feedback from community sessions.
  • Ratifying Intents and Budget through onchain governance.
  • Opening timeline for proposal submissions aligned with Season 1 goals.

Each season is not only a time to fund great work — it’s also an opportunity to reflect, evolve, and collectively improve how governance functions. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this work so far. We look forward to continuing to build this together.

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Thanks a lot. Good to advance on this. I don’t have much free time, but I would like to help.

Regarding values, “Prosperity for all” seems a good one to me, and I see it in action for example in Proof of Ship, DIVVI (where I have one humble project and hopefully soon a second one) and in general in the possibilities to participate in the CELO Governance.

But the regional DAO of my nationality seems to have different values. I don’t see possibilities to participate in the Colombian DAO, and no real support to the proposals I have made to CELO Colombia. Looks like another club to me.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, @vtamara, and for your continued engagement in the Celo ecosystem :yellow_heart:

We value your energy and your interest in participating in governance, especially through proposals like Proof of Ship and the Learn to Earn project on learn.tg.

That’s why we initially reached out to explore the idea of a course about Celo for our community. However, after reviewing your original proposal ~$10.5K, we found it to be outside the budget range we could prioritize. Even the revised ~$2K version, while appreciated, was evaluated alongside other proposals with broader reach and higher local impact.

For example, we’re currently running a DeFi Bootcamp with live sessions on a ~$2K budget. We also funded a $300 proposal from a Colombian student leading a university blockchain club, which included 12 written guides with visuals and educational videos. These projects reflect our focus on accessible, high-impact education.

We’ve also been consistently open about inviting participation through public opportunities like this open call

So we were genuinely surprised by your comment:

“The regional DAO of my nationality seems to have different values… Looks like another club to me.”

:warning: We want to be very clear: the fact that your proposals weren’t selected doesn’t mean we have different values, or that this is an exclusive club. Our decisions are based on budget, impact, and alignment with the goals of supporting people currently living and building in Colombia. That doesn’t mean your contributions aren’t valued, just that we have limited resources and must make difficult choices.

And as additional context (not directly related to your post here and don’t want to go deeper in this), we’re aware that BucksPay had to implement transaction limits and raise fees after detecting arbitrage activity, including from your account benefiting yourself, but compromising the growth of an early-stage project and broader community adoption. These were protective measures for the ecosystem, and they serve as a reminder that all of us, especially active contributors, have a shared responsibility to maintain trust and fairness in the community.

We sincerely hope this message clears the air. We’re here to build an open, collaborative, and regenerative ecosystem. It’s not personal, and we’re always open to proposals and ideas that align with these goals.

Let’s keep the conversation constructive and focused on what unites us: building prosperity for all. :yellow_heart: :seedling:

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At https://celoscan.io/advanced-filter?fadd=0x2e2c4AC19c93d0984840cDD8E7f77500e2ef978e%2C!0x820FAec66A504901De79fa44D21609d457174f5B%2C!0x8f51DC0791CdDDDCE08052FfF939eb7cf0c17856%2C!0x6EdA5aCafF7F5964E1EcC3FD61C62570C186cA0C%2C!0xA44b296de9cB799B5d6d93294577B06be1E7f2bC&tadd=0x55870907013bB2DeC9091Eb00DA665b987C2883C&tkn=0x8a567e2ae79ca692bd748ab832081c45de4041ea&mtd=0x9f12676c~0x9f12676c

You can see the 5 transactions I did in BucksPay from my whitelisted address 0x2e2c4ac19c93d0984840cdd8e7f77500e2ef978e that sum less than US$375 (COP$1’500.000) in transfers done between January and March of this year (supposing 2% in gain that would be US$7). When I inscribed in BucksPay I didn’t see anywhere that I should not try to make gain with the rate they offered. When 0xj4an asked if I did p2p, that I confirmd, and he told me no to try to do arbitrage I stopped using that service (I wanted to use that service as I used Wenia to make some gain when they had convenient conversion rate, Wenia limited the monthly amount automatically).

Interesting how I have to present so many personal details, to clear the air with your answer that suppossely is not personal.

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Other things I remember proposing are:

  • Backend for Buckspay (which from your answer seems to be very connected to Celo Colombia)
  • Ambassador programs for each region of Colombia to introduce cCOP (I volunteered as a Colombian abroad) and stop concentrating the programs in Antioquia and the Coffee Region.
  • Support for operating a validator located in Colombia; (the RefiCol4 validator team hasn’t responded to me)
  • Interactive and blockchain-based educational content for using cCOP
  • Widely promote the use of cCOP with paid campaigns on social media or other channels with a larger audience.

But hey, since there’s no mechanism for proposing and voting… everything is decided by the club owners.

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I want to point out that arbitrage activity is not only legitimate but actually beneficial for blockchain ecosystems traditionally.

Even more controversial practices like MEV extraction and front-running, while shunned, are generally accepted as inherent to blockchain operation. Note that such activities are prevented on Celo due to its centralized sequencer design and great trust in cLabs.

If arbitrage activity is genuinely detrimental to a project’s sustainability, this indicates a fundamental issue with the project’s economic model, technical implementation or risk management, not misconduct by blockchain users who are free to do whatever they want on the blockchain.

The suggestion that @vtamara somehow acted improperly by framing it to look like a security or bug exploitation is unfair. BucksPay traded off their economic security model for faster community adoption and growth, why should any individual be called out for taking advantage of it?

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Hi everyone, this is my first post here, so here is a quick introduction: I’m Ignacio, co-founder of Stakely. We have been validators on Celo since 2022 and have followed its evolution closely, from the early days to the relevant ecosystem it is today.

I’m reaching out because we have a few ideas for public goods (focused on infrastructure) that we would like to propose. I wanted to ensure the proposals align with community priorities and to confirm the correct process for sharing and refining them.

I have been reading through the forum, but I’m a bit lost and I would need some help:

  • What is the best place/person to request feedback on infrastructure/tooling proposals?
  • What is the right place to apply for a small grant to support development?

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to contributing

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Thanks again for your comments, @vtamara.

We want to respectfully clarify a few points to avoid misunderstandings and close this thread constructively:

:small_blue_diamond: Celo Colombia is not a DAO (Same as the other Regional Teams). It is a local initiative focused on promoting the Celo ecosystem in Colombia through use cases, education, adoption, and community support. We hope in future to have better ways for contributors to submit their ideas and allow wider participation, we are working on it. :flexed_biceps:

:small_blue_diamond: BucksPay is not part of Celo Colombia. It is a private project. While we supported and promoted the use of this tool and its use of cCOP to encourage real-world adoption, we do not manage or govern its operations.

:small_blue_diamond: ReFiColombia is also independent. While we may collaborate on aligned initiatives (actually we have not been collaborating with them yet), it is not operated or directed by Celo Colombia.

:small_blue_diamond: There is currently no formal ambassador program. We appreciate the interest shown by contributors like you and are exploring responsible ways to expand participation based on available capacity and structure.

:small_blue_diamond: Regarding educational content: As shared before, we’ve prioritized proposals with broader local reach and alignment with current needs, always working within a limited budget.

We also want to clarify that Celo Colombia’s work is not limited to Antioquia or the Coffee Region. In just six months of operating with dedicated funding, we’ve supported activities in main cities like Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales, Cartagena, and Amazon region and at the moment in conversations to do start doing some activities in Cali, and Cucuta. Our goal is to continue reaching more communities across the country, based on active interest and available resources.

Lastly, Celo Colombia is a collaborative effort. It is not led by any one person. Our messaging, decisions, and actions reflect a team-based approach, always focused on building an inclusive and regenerative ecosystem.

We welcome different perspectives and remain open to constructive dialogue, but we consider this matter closed from our side. :green_heart:

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Thank you for sharing your perspective, @yomfana

You’re absolutely right that arbitrage is a legitimate and often beneficial activity in open blockchain systems.

In the specific case of BucksPay, Celo Colombia was temporarily subsidizing the 3% transaction fee to make the platform more accessible during its early stages. Because community funds were involved, and some activity began affecting the sustainability of that subsidy, the BucksPay team made the decision to adjust its terms. That was their decision, not ours.

To clarify: Celo Colombia does not govern or operate BucksPay. We supported it, like other community-driven tools, for its potential to promote real-world cCOP use.

The previous mention of arbitrage was meant only to explain the timing and context of policy changes. It was not intended as an accusation or judgment of individual behavior.

We appreciate the broader discussion you’ve raised around blockchain economics, and we agree that such conversations are essential to evolving our shared ecosystem. As always, our goal is to help build a more sustainable and inclusive Web3 movement in Colombia. :green_heart:

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Hi Ignacio, welcome! Thank you for your interest to contribute to the infrastructure public goods. There was a proposal that passed at the end of 2024 to establish CICLOPS, a team dedicated to funding the development and maintenance of critical infrastructure on Celo. Reaching out to this team would be the best place to start evaluating alignment.

The ecosystem is currently in a transition to Seasonal cadence of governance and once the Intent and Budget are shared there will be space to discuss the proposal on a governance call, which is another place to bring ideas and feedback.

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Hello Ignacio, welcome!

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Thank you for the welcome and guidance. I will reach out to them, thanks again :slight_smile:

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