Celo Goes Live on Bridge, Bringing One of Crypto’s Most Active Stablecoin Networks to the Stripe-Owned Platform

WHY THIS MATTERS

Bridge’s addition of Celo support on May 6, 2026, marks a major milestone in the quest to move stablecoins from speculative assets to a global “invisible” payment rail. While many blockchains are still building for a theoretical future, Celo has already achieved massive scale in emerging markets. Its migration to an Ethereum Layer 2 in March 2025 served as a catalyst, driving over $65 billion in stablecoin volume and pushing lifetime transactions past 1.3 billion. For Bridge, which was acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion in 2025, adding Celo isn’t just about another chain—it’s about gaining access to a live, high-velocity economy of 15 million MiniPay users who already use stablecoins for daily commerce, airtime top-ups, and peer-to-peer transfers.

The technical “stablecoin-first” design of Celo—featuring one-second block times, sub-cent fees, and the ability to pay for gas directly in stablecoins—solves the primary friction points of blockchain payments. By providing a single API for USDC onramps, offramps, and cross-chain bridging on Celo, Bridge is allowing developers to bypass the “correspondent banking” nightmare of legacy finance. This integration effectively bridges the gap between sophisticated Western fintech tools and the 66+ countries where Celo is already the default digital dollar rail, creating a truly global, 24/7 financial infrastructure.

Bridge today added support for Celo, connecting its stablecoin orchestration platform to one of the most actively used networks in crypto. With 1.3 billion lifetime transactions, $65B+ in stablecoin volume since its March 2025 migration to an Ethereum Layer 2, 600K+ daily active users, and 25 native stablecoins in circulation, Celo gives Bridge developers direct access to a chain where stablecoin payments are already part of daily life for millions of users. 

Celo by the numbers: 

• 1.3B lifetime transactions
• $65B+ in stablecoin volume since March 2025
• 25 native stablecoins, including USDC, USD₮, and soon, USA₮
• 15M MiniPay users across 66 countries, with plans to onboard 50M+ Opera Browser users
• Sub-cent fees, one-second blocks

Celo launched on Earth Day 2020 and was purpose-built around stablecoins from day one––six years before stablecoin-first infrastructure became an industry category. That focus shows in the network’s design: sub-cent fees, one-second block times, and gas payable directly in stablecoins. Through a single Bridge API any business can now access onramps, offramps, and cross-chain bridging of USDC on Celo.

The clearest proof point of Celo’s real-world traction is MiniPay, the self-custodial wallet built by Opera (NASDAQ: OPRA). Since launch, MiniPay has reached 15 million users across 66 countries and facilitated over 400 million stablecoin transactions on Celo, with nearly 50 Mini Apps powering peer-to-peer payments, cross-border remittances, utility payments, and everyday commerce.

“Celo was built for the people who actually need stablecoins to work––for remittances, for savings, for daily commerce in markets where legacy rails fall short,” said Marek Olszewski, Celo co-founder and Celo Core Co. CEO. “Bridge has built the most developer-ready platform for moving stablecoins at scale. Together, we’re closing the gap between stablecoin infrastructure and real-world adoption.”

Celo’s sub-cent fees and one-second blocks have made it a default rail for everyday payments across emerging markets. 

FF NEWS TAKE

The partnership between Bridge and Celo is a definitive win for the “PayFi” movement. While other ecosystems are busy debating gas limits and sequencers, Celo has focused on the “last-mile” problem through MiniPay and the Opera Browser (NASDAQ: OPRA). By making Celo a native part of the Bridge orchestration platform, Stripe (via Bridge) is securing a front-row seat to the massive stablecoin volumes emerging from Africa, Southeast Asia, and LATAM. For Bridge, which already supports chains like Solana and Base, Celo provides the critical link to “unbanked” regions where mobile-first, self-custodial wallets are replacing traditional retail banking.

However, the real power move here is the sheer velocity of the Mini App ecosystem. With nearly 50 apps already live and facilitating 400 million transactions, Celo has proven that when you remove the “crypto” complexity—using phone numbers as identifiers and stablecoins for gas—users adopt the technology instantly. As Bridge continues to expand its Open Issuance platform, we should expect to see more localized stablecoins (like the upcoming USA₮) launched via Bridge specifically for Celo’s high-growth corridors. If the 2024–2025 era was about building the rails, 2026 is clearly about the high-volume traffic now flowing across them.