CLabs to Work With eCurrency to Integrate CBDCs With DeFi

CLabs, the organization behind developing the Celo ecosystem, said Friday it will be working with eCurrency, the technology provider that enables central banks to issue digital currencies (CBDC).

Through the partnership, central banks that are trialing or launching CBDCs will be able to use the Celo blockchain to allow end users access to decentralized finance (DeFi) products, according to a press release.

The Celo blockchain allows native and non-native digital assets (cryptographic and CBDCs) to circulate freely across devices, carriers and countries, according to the Celo website. The blockchain uses phone numbers for public keys and issues a native stable-value token.

ECurrency enables central banks to mint and issue CBDC instruments to financial intermediaries in compliance with existing legal frameworks. In 2021, eCurrency worked with the Bank of Jamaica on the pilot of the Jamaican CBDC (the Jam-Dex). The Ireland-based firm uses digital symmetric cryptography technology for central banks to issue and distribute CBDCs securely and efficiently, according to its website.

“After seeing how Celo has opened new opportunities for end users, such as access to loans and savings, it’s only natural that cLabs extend the use case to CBDCs,” said Tim Moreton, chief executive of cLabs, in the release.

The Celo Foundation announced "Connect the World," at its conference earlier in the week in Barcelona, a $20 million campaign to incentivize the development of high-quality Celo on- and off-ramps worldwide.

The CELO token is trading up 30% over the last 30 days and spiked earlier on in the week during the protocol’s Celo Connect event in Barcelona.