Celo and Bitcoin are two cryptocurrency projects that are about as different as they can possibly be, considering they were effectively set up with a similar goal in mind. Bitcoin was the original digital currency, built to offer a decentralised alternative to traditional finance. Effectively, Celo has the same goal only intended specifically for mobile devices.
However, lifting the lid on these projects reveals that they have very, very different infrastructures and from a technical perspective, Celo is the more advanced of the two - not least because it can support smart contracts and DeFi.
As we head further into 2023, the cryptocurrency market is entering unchartered territory. Following a record-breaking year in 2021, a widespread downturn has created a buyers market and investors are now wondering whether an older platform like Bitcoin still has the weight behind it to lead the bounceback.
Weighing up Celo vs Bitcoin could arguably boil down to simply deciding whether you believe the cryptocurrency status quo is going to continue, with BTC continuing to dominate the market, or whether you believe that 2023 could be the year things change and more advanced altcoins push Bitcoin from the table.
So where should investors put their money in 2023 - is Bitcoin still king, or do projects like Celo offer much better return prospects? In the following Celo vs Bitcoin comparison, we’ll be taking a closer look at each platform and seeing what analysts are predicting for the year ahead.
Celo vs Bitcoin - The Fundamentals
First thing’s first, it might be tempting to dismiss Bitcoin at this stage, as it is little more than a famously volatile investment asset at this stage. However, it’s worth remembering that, from a technical perspective, the original cryptocurrency was surpassed a long time ago, yet it continues to lead the market.
That being said, understanding the key differences between how these projects work can give us an idea of their real-world use cases and whether or not they are actually viable.
Celo
Background
The Celo was conceived in 2017 by Rene Reinsberg and Marek Olszewski, however, it officially launched in 2020, by which time it had a pretty strong team behind it, including backers and developers from some of the world’s most prestigious institutions and tech firms, including MIT, Stanford, Google, Square, Cambridge University, the US Department of Justice, Bank Of America, and the Gates Foundation.
Celo is a cryptocurrency project aimed at predominantly at smart phone users. What makes Celo stand out from other platforms is this focus on smartphone users. The platform uses phone numbers as public keys to offer a simple way for users to transact with digital currency, which Celo believes will be of particular benefit to those in developing nations without regular banking access.
Celo also supports smart contracts and DApps, so Defi projects can be designed or implemented on the platform.
Platform fundamentals
First and foremost, Celo uses stablecoins to allow any mobile phone user to send or receive funds directly from their device. By linking mobile numbers to public keys, it's even possible for one user to send to another - even if they don’t have a cryptocurrency wallet at the time.
A key aspect of Celo is its speed. The blockchain uses ZKSnarks cryptography, enabling it to dispense with the need to store all previous transactions on each block, something that significantly reduces the amount of data required for each transaction - something which has caused major slow down to some of the leading platforms out there, not least Bitcoin and Ethereum.
To run the platform, Celo has a system consisting of three contributors: light clients are basically software that runs on a users device, such as a cryptocurrency project or user interface, validator nodes, which are used in the consensus mechanism and full nodes, which effectively operate as a bridge between the light clients and the validators.
The CELO token
The Celo platform was set up to allow users to pay for goods and services with stablecoins. At the time of writing, it supports two: Celo Euro and Celo USD. However, in addition to the currencies listed on the platform, there’s also the CELO token.
The CELO cryptocurrency is the governance token of the project, meaning it has an essential role in the continued operation and development of the whole Celo infrastructure. Hodlers of the token are able to vote on upgrades and changes to the platform, earning rewards when they do so
CELO has a hard cap of 1 billion tokens and at the time of writing, some 387.1 million are in open circulation.
Check Out: Is Celo A Good Buy?
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Bitcoin
Background
Bitcoin is easily the most famous cryptocurrency in the world. It was launched back in 2009 and sought to provide a digital alternative to cash, as a way of decentralising the entrenched financial systems of the world.
It’s probably fair to say that Bitcoin hasn’t really achieved its goal of providing a genuine alternative to cash, but it has become one of the most popular assets for investors worldwide. Whilst there may have been sceptics in the first few years, BTC has consistently demonstrated an ability to offer huge returns.
An important consideration for investors, however, it Bitcoin’s age. It may have once been cutting edge, but now its underlying blockchain and proof-of-work consensus mechanism are somewhat dated. Bitcoin is also unable to support smart contracts and therefore has limited use within the burgeoning DeFi industry.
Transactions and Speed
With a speed of around five transactions per second, Bitcoin is positively sluggish when compared to more modern platforms. For comparison, Celo can handle around 200 TPS. Bitcoin’s slow speed essentially prevent it from ever being truly viable as a commercial payment option.
The reason for its limitations is that Bitcoin relies on the proof-of-work consensus mechanism, wherein miners on the network compete to solve equations and verify new blocks - a process that requires a huge amount of resources and takes much more time than proof-of-stake protocols.
Things may be sounding a little negative for Bitcoin at this stage, but it's worth noting that much faster platforms have existed for years, yet Bitcoin has continued to dominate the market - even following the launch of Ethereum. As such, we shouldn’t write BTC off based on transactions speeds alone.
The BTC token
The Bitcoin token is released into the system through the mining process. For each block that is added to the network, the miners receive an amount of BTC as a reward. This amount has been halved at regular intervals, starting at 25 BTC in 2012, it was reduced to 12.5 BTC in 2016, then to 6.25 BTC in 2020.
The total supply of BTC is also capped at 21 million - which can never be altered. This means that, as time goes on, the diminishing rewards and total supply cap mean the supply of Bitcoin is gradually reducing, which, in theory, could see its value driven up.
This is an important consideration, especially as large scale institutional investors tend to buy and hold BTC, effectively taking it out of circulation for long periods. Assuming demand for the token continues, we can rightly expect this to have a positive impact on price as the years go on.
Don't Miss: Pros and Cons of Investing in Bitcoin
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Celo vs Bitcoin: Which Is The Better Investment?
It’s probably fair to say that Bitcoin has proved its credentials as an investment opportunity by this stage. However, there’s also no denying that projects like Celo are far more advanced and arguably offer a much more viable real-world use case. So how do we decide which is the better option moving forward?
Of course, there’s no way to say for sure. The best option we have is to consider several data streams to try and build a better idea of how Celo and Bitcoin may perform in the near future.
Bitcoin vs Celo: Price History
The first thing we need to look at is the price history of Bitcoin vs Celo, as this is the data that is used to generate the price predictions we will come to later. Price history is also useful in telling us how a coin’s price may move in relation to the wider cryptocurrency market.
CELO
Looking back at Celo’s price history, it’s fair to say that the chart lines have been anything but flat. When it was first widely listed back in May 2020, CELO was worth about $0.81. However, after just two weeks, it had surged 225% to $2.64. Whilst it didn’t hold this value for long, neither did the token slump back to its initial value, instead of holding out above $1.50 for the next few months.
In August of 2020, CELO saw another major upswing, this time soaring by 140% in a matter of weeks, to reach an average price of $4.45. However, a downturn followed the summer and CELO had slipped down to $1.37 before the year was out.
The downturn wasn’t to last, as 2021 proved to be a hugely successful year for Celo. January saw prices recover to $3.21, before a major market upswing in February carried the token to $5.30. This success was then replicated in April, only this time CELO hit $6.10. May brought further bulls and Celo reached $6.33 before a market-wide downturn over the summer sent prices tumbling to a low of $1. 92 in June.
Once again, Celo wasn’t down for long and in the final days of August, it soared by almost 160% to its all-time high of $9.82. Further success was to come in September and October, with CELO peaking above $7.20 on multiple occasions. Inevitably, a downturn followed, sending the token back to $3.47.
A market-wide slump struck in January 2023, wiping significant value of most major cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, CELO was holding steady at $3.11.
BTC
Bitcoin has more or less become synonymous with huge jumps in value. The token was worth virtually nothing when it launched in 2009, yet by 2013 cryptocurrency had become big business and a single BTC token was trading at over $1,242. Naturally, those who had chose to invest early say massive returns on their investment.
Of course, Bitcoin has also seen its fair share of downturns and many will remember the famous cryptocurrency bubble of 2017/2018. By January 2018, Bitcoin had soared to $19,783 - setting new records for the cryptocurrency market amid a spate of investor interest. However, the token could not maintain this momentum and the bubble eventually burst, sending bTC tumbling to $3,430 by December that same year.
However, the huge returns that some cryptocurrency investors had already become legendary by this point and it wasn’t long before Bitcoin was rallying again. Then, of course, came the record-breaking year in 2021, which saw Bitcoin hit $40,000 in January, then $64,804 just a month later.
Later in 2021, Bitcoin was to saor to its all-time high of $69,044, before the market started to cool. As weve mentioned, a major downturn then struck in January 2023 and at the time of writing BTC was trading at $37,760.
Bitcoin vs Celo: Future Predictions
Price history is great for seeing how a coin has performed and whether or not it follows the wider market, but ultimately investors are interested in what the future holds. For this, our best option is to consider price predictions from a few leading analysts.
Celo
Celo’s price movement has noticeably diverged from the wider cryptocurrency market at several points throughout its existence, so analysts have slightly less to go on when making there forecast, as its movement cannot be pegged to, say, Bitcoin, as is the case with many other tokens.
DigitalCoinPrice believes that CELO will continue to see significant volatility, but will ultimately put in a good performance throughout 2023. According to its technical analysis, the token will be up by around 45% in April, with an average trading price of $4.37 for the month. Things are expected to cool slightly through the summer, but by December the token is expected to be back up at around $4.27.
WalletInvestor has echoed the sentiments of DigitalCoinPrice, but believes CELO could see even bigger gains in 2023. It has the token consistently trading at an average price of over $4.20 - including over the summer months - but by December the token could well have reached a potential high of $6.71.
By far the most optimistic Celo price prediction can be found on the Economy Forecast Agency website. According to this analyst, CELO will see unprecedented growth across the next twelve months, potentially more than doubling in value. Its data suggests that the token could reach as high as $6.50 by December - which would equate to growth of 110% on today’s price.
Read Also: Celo Price Predictions
BTC
Price forecasts for Celo appear to be pretty positive, but what about Bitcoin? Can we really expect BTC to bounce back to the record highs it was seeing in 2021?
The answer, if you ask DigitalCoinPrice, would be yes. The platform predicts that the original cryptocurrency will see its fortunes turn around soon, reaching a respectable $51,260 by May/June - which would equate to growth of around 35% on the price at the time of writing. Summer will be a slow time for the market in general, but by the end of the year Bitcoin is expected to be at an average trading price of $51,806.
Meanwhile, WalletInvestor is predicting a slightly longer recovery period, but still expects a positive year ahead for Bitcoin. Its technical analysis has the token reaching $46,189 by April, having shaken off the downturn. July and August will be slow months but but September WalletInvestor has BTC reaching $53,941 as an average for the month. Then by the end of the year, Bitcoin could be worth up to $68,366.
The last analyst we checked out, TradingBeasts, is a little more apprehensive. It has suggested that Bitcoin will not make any significant recovery in 2023 and will actually lose around 5% of it’s value as the year draws to a close. The token is then expected to struggle across 2023, only bouncing back in 2024, when it will gain about 30% as the year progresses.
As always, these predictions are highly speculative and nothing is set in stone. They do, however, offer us another means of comparing Celo vs Bitcoin so are worth keeping in mind as you prepare your investment strategy.
Check Out: Bitcoin Price Predictions
Celo vs Bitcoin: What the Experts Say
Price predictions for both Celo and Bitcoin look fairly positive and both could potentially perform well for investors in 2023. In addition to analysts predictions, we can also take note of what certain market figures have to say about each project.
One prominent Bitcoin support is Mike Novogratz, of Galaxy Digital. He is so confident that bitcoin will bounce back in the coming months that he has taken to Twitter to bet stockbroker Peter Schiff - famous for his anti-cryptocurrency stance - $1 million that BTC will be worth more than $35,000 by this time next year.
Novogratz believes that Bitcoin may take a few months to begin its recovery, but the fact that there’s a “tremendous amount of institutional demand on the sidelines,” means the original cryptocurrency will inevitably lead the market back to a positive footing.
Celo also has its share of support within the industry. Steven Ehrlich, director of research for digital assets at Forbes, believes that by allowing users to send funds to a phone number, Celo offers something unique and the lack of requirement for counterparties in transactions will be a critical feature in its long-term success.
Celo vs Bitcoin: Conclusion
So, that about wraps up our comparison of Celo vs Bitcoin. Celo is the newer platform and has capabilities that Bitcoin cannot hope to match - not least the ability to support smart contracts and DApps. However, as it stands the project is not on Bitcoin’s level when it comes to token value or market capitalisation.
At this stage, Bitcoin’s strength lies in its widespread support from institutional investors. Celo, on the other hand, has a genuinely valuable use case that could offer significant benefits to mobile users in countries with inadequate banking infrastructure.
If we take price predictions into account, then it seems that either project could be a solid performer in 2023. Whereas TradingBeats suggests Bitcoin’s recovery could take that little bit longer, ultimately it still points towards growth. As such, investors will need to consider timeframes when adding BTC to their portfolios.
To sum up, it’s fairly difficult to make any meaningful comparison between Celo and Bitcoin as they are projects on two completely separate paths. Of course, if you’re looking to diversify your current investment portfolio, then you might want to consider making a small investment in both projects.
Whichever token you choose, the next year could see major changes for the cryptocurrency market and we always recommend keeping a close eye on developments and adjusting your investment strategy accordingly.
How To Invest In Celo & BTC Cryptoc Coins In 2023
The cryptocurrency market has been on a downwards trend throughout January, with several tokens dropping significantly in value. Inevitably, this has created something of a buyers market, with many predicting an imminent bounce back.
If you are looking to invest in coins like Bitcoin and Celo in 2023, then the first thing you’ll need is a cryptocurrency wallet to store your tokens. These are available in a variety of formats and you’ll find many exchanges offer custodial wallets as standard.
In addition to a cryptocurrency wallet, you’ll also need to find a broker or exchange that can give you access to the market. We recommend eToro for most investors, as it has an award-winning trading platform as well as a wealth of information relating to the cryptocurrency market and trading in general.
eToro – The Best Platform To Buy Cryptocurrencies
eToro have proven themselves trustworthy within the Crypto industry over many years – we recommend you try them out.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
FAQs
What is Celo?
Celo is an intriguing cryptocurrency that seeks to increase digital currency uptake among smartphone users. By doing this, the project seeks to give a financial platform to those who maybe unable to access traditional banking. The project also supports smart contracts and DApps.
Will Celo overtake Bitcoin in 2023?
Whilst Celo has a lot of potential as a cryptocurrency for mobile users, it's not currently on Bitcoin’s level when it comes to market capitalisation. In the future, there’s every chance that a platform like Celo will unseat the original cryptocurrency, but that is unlikely to happen in 2023.
Where can I buy Celo?
If you’re looking to buy CELO then you’ll need to find a broker that lists the token. Fortunately, you’ll find CELO, along with several other top cryptocurrencies, listed on eToro. We recommend this platform for most users as it has a user-friendly interface and plenty of learning resources to get you started.
Which crypto should I buy in 2023?
It looks like 2023 will be another exciting year for cryptocurrency and there’s every reason to believe we may see more record-breaking price runs as the year progresses. The hard part is knowing which token to invest in! If you’re looking to start your research, then we’d suggest you check out our guide to what top ten cryptocurrencies will explode in 2023.
Will Bitcoin recover?
Bitcoin’s trading price dropped significantly at the beginning of 2023, prompting many to wonder whether a cryptocurrency that’s almost 13 years old can bounce back. However, analysts seem to think so and most believe BTC will see substantial bulls over the coming months.