Browser marker Opera (OPRA) wants to replace its cash deal with Celo with a 160 million CELO token allocation, a move that would make the browser company a major player in the payments network if token holders approve.
The proposal, submitted to Celo’s governance forum, would exchange a quarterly grant in US dollars for a symbolic reward over three years. Using the approximately 600 million CELO currently in circulation according to CoinMarketCap data, the proposed allocation equates to approximately 27% of the circulating supply.
It also represents 16% of the maximum supply of 1 billion tokens. At the time of writing, CELO is trading at $0.07, down significantly from the high above $6 seen in late 2021.
The transaction would involve a “one-time transfer of 160 million CELO from the unreleased treasury to a vault controlled by Opera.” To maintain governance, the proposal states, the voting power of these tokens will be “capped at 10% of total CELO stakes,” with protocol emergencies being the exception.
Opera and Celo said the change reflects the role of self-custodial crypto wallet MiniPay, which the browser maker operates, on the network. MiniPay runs on Celo, an Ethereum layer 2 network designed for low-cost payments, and allows users to hold their own funds, send stablecoins with phone numbers instead of wallet chains, and pay using local methods in various countries including Argentina and Brazil.
“Given that MiniPay is already Celo’s most used app, we have a clear long-term incentive to see the entire ecosystem prosper,” Jorgen Arnesen, Executive Vice President of Opera, told CoinDesk. “The terms of this agreement reflect the scale and maturity of the partnership as well as Opera’s true belief and commitment to the long-term value of the Celo ecosystem and its native governance token, CELO, as well as our goal to be a key and supportive stakeholder.”
According to the companies, MiniPay has reached over 14 million records and over 420 million transactions in over 66 countries since its launch in 2023.
They also said that more than 50 million Opera browser users who have earned rewards over the past few months will be able to redeem them for USDT in MiniPay.
If approved, the proposal would make Opera a long-term player in the Celo ecosystem. Opera shares are trading at $14.6 after losing 1.2% of their value during yesterday’s trading session.
