Celer Network

What Is Celer Network?

Celer Network is an interoperability protocol founded by four PhDs from MIT, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and UIUC. The protocol streamlines user access to tokens, DeFi, GameFi, NFTs, governance, privacy, and more across multiple blockchains.

Celer enables anyone to easily build cross-chain native dApps using the Celer Cross-Chain Messaging SDK, leveraging efficient liquidity utilization, unified application logic, and shared states. Users of Celer-powered dApps can access a diverse, multi-chain ecosystem with the simplicity of a single-transaction experience.

CELR serves as the native token for the protocol, with use cases including staking and network fees. Users can delegate CELR to stake with validators and participate in network consensus, earning CELR rewards. Celer's validators in the State Guardian Network also share value captured as the network synchronizes, stores, and signs messages.

Core Protocol Components

Celer Network comprises several key components that work together to deliver a comprehensive interoperability solution:

State Guardian Network

Celer’s State Guardian Network (SGN) is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain built with Tendermint, using CELR as the staking asset. It routes messages between blockchains and provides L1-level security.

Validator nodes stake CELR to participate in SGN consensus. CELR staking is fundamental to the economic security of the Celer Cross-Chain Messaging Framework and Celer-enabled dApps, including Celer cBridge.

To use SGN’s message routing and multi-signature attestation services, users pay fees to the SGN. These fees are distributed among CELR validators and stakers for securing the network, in addition to standard PoS block rewards.

Celer cBridge

Celer cBridge is a decentralized, non-custodial asset bridge that enables fast, secure, and low-cost token transfers across blockchains. It currently supports 130+ tokens on over 30 blockchains and Layer 2 rollups.

Built on the Celer Cross-Chain Messaging Framework, cBridge has processed more than $10 billion in cross-chain transfer volume for over 199,000 unique users.

cBridge has evolved through several major phases:

• Phase v1.0: Launched to support token transfers between Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, and BNB Chain, powered by liquidity from node operators.

• Phase v2.0: Expanded to support 80+ tokens and 20+ chains/rollups. Transfers use two models: xAsset (canonical mapping bridge) and xLiquidity (pool-based bridge), accommodating various token deployment scenarios.

• Phase v3.0 and beyond: cBridge continued expanding to more blockchains, Layer 2s, and tokens, establishing itself as a leading industry bridge.

Cross-Chain Messaging Framework

The Celer Cross-Chain Messaging Framework (Celer IM) enables generic message passing and smart contract calls across blockchains. With Celer IM, developers can build native cross-chain dApps that utilize liquidity efficiently, maintain consistent logic, and share application states.

Users of dApps powered by Celer IM benefit from a diverse, multi-chain ecosystem while enjoying a seamless, single-transaction experience.

Celer IM unlocks a universe of cross-chain composability, enabling native cross-chain DEXs, yield aggregators, NFT marketplaces, metaverse games, NFT bridges, and more.

Celer IM uses smart contracts deployed on each chain, paired with the State Guardian Network, to deliver seamless cross-chain interoperability.

The message transfer process works as follows:

• A user or dApp submits an intent as a message with a structured header and arbitrary binary payload to a Message Bus smart contract on the source chain.

• The State Guardian Network validator reaches consensus on the message and generates a staking-weighted multi-signature attestation.

• This attestation is relayed to the destination via an Executor subscribed to the message.

• On the destination chain, the Message Bus contract verifies the message and triggers the corresponding logic, either immediately or after a delay.

Layer2.Finance

Layer2.Finance addresses two major barriers to DeFi mass adoption: high transaction fees and complex protocol navigation.

Layer2.Finance is an innovative solution that gives users access to all existing DeFi protocols at a fraction of the cost, serving as a "DeFi Public Transportation System." This significantly lowers entry barriers for those seeking DeFi opportunities.

Token Economics and Supply

Token Supply Distribution

Token supply is distributed as follows:

Seed Sale: 11.5% of the total supply, completed April 2018 in ETH at 76,000 CELR = 1 ETH. Raised 15,130 ETH at about $0.0065 per token.

Private Sale: 15.5% of the total supply, completed August 2018 in ETH at 31,400 CELR = 1 ETH. Raised 49,363 ETH at about $0.0150 per token.

Launchpad Sale: 6.0% of the total supply, conducted March 2019, raising approximately $4,000,000 USD in BNB at about $0.0067 per token.

Team: 18.3% of the total supply.

Advisors: 1.7% of the total supply.

Foundation: 17% of the total supply.

Marketing and Ecosystem: 5.0% of the total supply.

Mining Rewards: 25% of the total supply.

Treasury and Strategy

Celer prioritizes ongoing development and investment in top-tier technical talent. Tokens are stored in cold wallets with multi-signature support to ensure fund security.

Commercial Partnerships

Celer has partnered with over 169 protocols, building interoperability infrastructure for a wide array of blockchains, Layer 2 rollups, DeFi projects, GameFi projects, NFT marketplaces, and more.

These partnerships highlight Celer’s commitment to a robust interoperable ecosystem and widespread adoption of cross-chain solutions.

Project Team

Celer Network was founded by four PhDs from MIT, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and UIUC. Over the years, Celer has assembled a highly technical engineering team with experience from top startups and tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Cisco, HP, and others.

Advisors

Celer is guided by leading advisors in distributed systems and computer science:

Dr. Christos Kozyrakis: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University; ACM and IEEE fellow. Focuses on secure, energy-efficient distributed systems.

Dr. Alan Mishchenko: Research scientist at UC Berkeley since 2002. Specializes in scalable, high-speed design automation tools and efficient logic synthesis and formal verification methods.

Community and Development

Celer maintains a robust community growth strategy targeting both end users and developers, aimed at building a successful interoperable blockchain ecosystem leveraging the Celer Cross-Chain Messaging Framework.

Celer has cultivated an active community on Telegram, Twitter, and Discord. Regular community announcements, educational initiatives, and live events drive interoperability awareness and community growth.

A major focus of Celer’s community efforts is building low-barrier developer partnerships. Continuous improvements to developer documentation—on Celer blogs, documentation sites, and Github—empower anyone to leverage Celer’s technology and deliver intuitive cross-chain user experiences.

Celer actively leads the interoperability space toward a more decentralized, secure, and sustainable future. With over 100 partners supporting the Open Canonical Token Standard initiative launched by Celer, the team raises awareness of vendor lock-in risks in certain bridge solutions. Celer provides alternative solutions, enabling dApps to flexibly integrate with future cross-chain advancements.

FAQ

What is Celer Network? What problem does it solve?

Celer Network is a Layer 2 scalability solution that enhances blockchain interoperability and scalability. It solves Layer 1 congestion and high fee issues, enabling faster, lower-cost transactions.

How does Celer Network differ from other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum or Optimism?

Celer Network focuses on cross-chain interoperability via its SGN for fast, low-cost transactions, while Arbitrum and Optimism employ rollup technology to lower fees and boost throughput on Ethereum.

How do I make cross-chain transactions and transfers on Celer Network?

Use cBridge for one-click cross-chain transfers. cBridge supports two bridge models—xAsset and xLiquidity—enabling fast, straightforward asset transfers across blockchains.

What is the purpose of CELR, Celer Network’s native token?

CELR is used to pay transaction fees on the Celer Network platform, reward network validators, and serve as an incentive mechanism for various activities within the ecosystem.

How do Celer Network’s payment and state channel technologies work?

Celer state channels facilitate multiple off-chain transactions with final settlement on-chain. They support complex logic beyond payments, reducing costs and significantly boosting speed.

What are the transaction fees for using Celer Network? How is security ensured?

Celer Network’s fees are dynamic and generally low, depending on network usage. Security is ensured through off-chain state submission and custody by the SGN, providing reliable transaction protection.