What is Celo?

Celo is a blockchain protocol that aims to reduce the barriers of entry to DeFi adoption. Celo is mobile-first, supports sending transactions to mobile numbers, has low gas fees, and supports stablecoins. These make Celo more accessible compared to other protocols

Setting up your Celo Wallet.

• Open the Metamask extension on your browser and select the dropdown at the top where it says “Ethereum Mainnet.”

• Select the “Custom RPC” option, and you’ll see this form.

• Enter the following information in the respective fields
  • Network Name: Celo (Mainnet)
  • New RPC URL: https://forno.celo.org
  • Chain ID: 42220
  • Currency Symbol: CELO
  • Block Explorer URL: https://explorer.celo.org
• Click “Save”

Note: Metamask does not natively support Celo compatibility and some features may not work properly. For example, you have to pay for gas fees in CELO while using a Metamask Wallet. Using a Celo-native wallet allows you to pay for gas using multiple currencies. Follow this link for more info.

Here are a list of Celo-Native Wallet Apps

Valora

https://valoraapp.com/

• Works on iOS and Android
• Supports Phone Numbers as addresses.

Celo Wallet

https://celowallet.app/

• Works on Browser and Desktop
• Supports Ledger and Staking

Celo Terminal

https://celoterminal.com/

• Works on Desktop (Mac, Windows and Linux)
• Supports Ledger and Staking

Adding funds to Celo

You can purchase CELO on a CEX like Coinbase, Binance or KuCoin and send it to your Celo Wallet. This link contains a list of exchanges that list CELO

Bridging CELO from Ethereum Mainnet to Celo Network

• Purchase CELO on SushiSwap (Ethereum)
• Visit Optics Bridge and connect your wallet

• Select CELO token on Ethereum Network in the “From” option.
• Select “Celo” as the destination network.
• Once you click on Bridge, you will have to confirm that transaction with your wallet. This step requires gas.

Congratulations! You have now successfully bridged CELO from Ethereum Mainnet to Celo Network.

Bridging Funds to CELO from Ethereum Mainnet.

You can use Ubeswap to bridge tokens from the Ethereum Mainnet to Celo.

• Visit app.ubeswap.org/#/bridge and connect your Metamask Wallet.

• Select the tokens that you’d like to bridge and approve the token. This step requires you to pay gas in ETH.
• Once approved, you can bridge the tokens to Celo Mainnet.
• Make sure to add the token to your Metamask Wallet.

Note: If you’re using a Metamask wallet, I recommend sending some CELO to your address from a CEX and then bridging funds as Metamask allows you to pay for gas fees only with CELO (unlike Celo native wallets)

Congratulations! You have now learnt how to setup a Celo Wallet and Bridge Funds.