Browser marker Opera (OPRA) wants to replace its cash-based deal with Celo with an allocation of 160 million CELO tokens, a move that would make the browser company a major stakeholder in the payments network if token holders approve.
The proposal, submitted to Celos’ governance forum, would swap a quarterly US dollar grant for a three-year token allocation. Using the roughly 600 million CELO now in circulation according to CoinMarketCap data, the proposed allocation is equivalent to roughly 27% of the circulating supply.
It also represents 16% of the token’s maximum supply of 1 billion. CELO is currently trading at $0.07, down significantly from a peak above $6 seen in late 2021.
The transaction would involve a “one-time transfer of 160 million CELO from the undisclosed treasury to an Opera-controlled safe.” To maintain governance, the proposal reads, the voting power of these tokens will be “limited to 10% of the total staked CELO,” with protocol emergencies as the exception.
Opera and Celo said the change reflects the role of self-storage crypto wallet MiniPay, which the browser maker operates, on the network. MiniPay runs on Celo, an Ethereum layer-2 network built for low-cost payments, and lets users hold their own money, send stablecoins with phone numbers instead of wallet strings, and pay with local methods in various countries, including Argentina and Brazil.
“Since MiniPay is already Celo’s most used app, we have a clear, long-term incentive to see the entire ecosystem thrive,” Jorgen Arnesen, EVP at Opera, told CoinDesk. “The terms of this agreement reflect the scale and maturity of the partnership and Opera’s genuine belief in and commitment to the long-term value of the Celo ecosystem and its native governance token, CELO, and our goal of being a supportive, key stakeholder.”
According to the companies, MiniPay has reached more than 14 million registrations and over 420 million transactions in more than 66 countries since its launch in 2023.
They also said that more than 50 million Opera browser users who have earned rewards in recent months will be able to redeem them as USDT in MiniPay.
If approved, the proposal will make Opera a long-term stakeholder in the Celo ecosystem. Opera’s shares are trading at $14.6 after losing 1.2% of their value in yesterday’s trading session.
