The Celo Kenya Shilling (cKES) : Your Digital Money, Simplified
August 27 2024
by Charles Mabwa
The Celo Kenya Shilling (cKES) is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Kenyan Shilling (KES) that operates on the Celo blockchain. cKES is part of Mento Labs’ wider ecosystem of decentralized stablecoins, including the Celo Dollar (cUSD), Celo Euro (cEUR), Brazilian Real (cREAL) and West African Franc (eXOF). Mento Labs is the development team behind the Mento Platform, a multi-currency EVM platform to launch and operate decentralized stablecoins with the mission of providing stablecoins for every country in the world.
Benefits of the Celo Kenya Shilling (cKES) compared to the Kenya Shilling (KES)
Fast Transfers: Send money (cKES) instantly to anyone, anywhere in Kenya.
Low Fees: Pay less when sending or receiving money, with near zero transaction fees, referred to as gas fees.
Global: Use it for international remittances easily compared to the Kenya Shilling, with near-instantaneous transfers, regardless of geographical location.
Settlement Time: The cKES has a faster settlement time.
Transparency: All transactions made with the cKES are recorded on a public blockchain and can be accessed whenever needed. This enhances trust and allows for the ease of auditing the transactions.
Integration with the Celo Ecosystem: The cKES can be easily swapped with other Mento stablecoins in the Celo ecosystem such as the Celo Dollar (cUSD).
Secure: Your money is protected by advanced blockchain technology.
Backed by an Overcollateralized Reserve: The cKES is collateralized by the Mento Reserve, a diversified portfolio of cryptocurrencies, enhancing stability and trust.
Gas Fees: Pay gas fees both in the native CELO and cKES for transactions.
Current Financial Challenges in Kenya: The Problem with the Traditional Financial System in Kenya
High transaction fees for remittances and cross-border payments when using the traditional financial system.
Inflation concerns with traditional currency.
Underserved and underbanked communities in rural areas where there is limited or no access to banking services.
Why Choose Celo Kenya Shilling?
- Simple: Use it just like M-Pesa, but with lower fees that are near zero.
- Environmentally friendly : With the cKES there is no need to carry physical Kenyan cash which can be detrimental to the environment.
- Accessible: Once you have access to a mobile phone you can access the cKES.
- Financial inclusion: cKES offers financial inclusion to the unbanked and underserved communities in rural regions who don’t have access to traditional financial services but have access to a smartphone.
Here is how you can access the Celo Kenya Shilling (cKES) from the Mento Stable Exchange.
Step 1: Navigate to the Mento Stable Exchange through: https://app.mento.org/
Step 2: Click on the "Connect Wallet" button at the bottom of your screen.
Step 3: You should be able to see different wallet options ranging from Valora, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Omni and WalletConnect.
Step 4: Connect your wallet to the Mento Stable Exchange. You must connect your wallet to approve transactions in the dApp. Once connected, you will have access to your wallet address. You should now see this interface.
Step 5: Select the token you want to swap from and to the token you want to swap to. This example will show swapping from cUSD to cKES. Select the "From Token" (cUSD) and "To Token" (cKES).
Step 6: Confirm swap
You should be able to confirm the swap before swapping.
Step 7: Send your transaction
After confirming the swap, you should be able to send your transaction on the Celo Network.
Step 8: Complete your swap and confirm your cKES tokens in your Valora Wallet.
Celo Kenya Shilling Use Cases
Remittances and Cross Border Payments: Enabling cross-border payments and remittances is a major use case for the cKES. By using cKES, Kenyan workers working overseas can send money to their families promptly and cheaply without having to deal with the expensive fees and ineffectiveness of traditional remittance services.
E-commerce: By utilizing the low cost, quick settlement, and programmable features of cKES, the integration into the Kenyan e-commerce ecosystem has the potential to increase adoption, enhance transaction efficiency, and open up new options for both merchants and customers.
Savings: Kenyan consumers now have the chance to utilize cKES as a reliable, portable, and programmable store of value, improving the security of their funds, generating income, and enjoying the advantages that cryptocurrency-native financial instruments may bring.
B2B Transactions: There are a number of benefits that the incorporation of the cKES can offer to Kenyan B2B payments and transactions. cKES can assist Kenyan businesses in streamlining their financial administration, cutting expenses, and increasing operational effectiveness. It can achieve this by simplifying cross-border payments as well as enhancing supply chain financing and invoicing.
Microlending: The cKES can be a powerful tool for microlending platforms like Haraka to enhance financial inclusion, lower fees, automate repayments, improve risk management, increase transparency, and scale their operations more efficiently.
cKES Stablecoin Dashboard
The cKES Stablecoin Dashboard is created by Dennis Kimathi and hosted on Dune Analytics. It provides an in-depth look at the cKES. Some key features and insights of the dashboard include:
Total Supply and Circulation: Tracks the total supply of cKES tokens and the current circulating supply, providing a high-level overview of the stablecoin's market presence.
Stablecoin Reserves: Displays the total value of the assets (primarily Kenyan Shillings) held in the Reserve to back the cKES stablecoin, ensuring its peg stability.
Total Transactions Over Time: Visualizes the daily and weekly transaction volume of the cKES stablecoin, offering insights into its adoption and usage patterns.
Token Holders Count: Analyzes the distribution of cKES token holders, including the number of unique addresses and the concentration of holdings.
Total Liquidity Pools on Uniswap: Provides insight into the liquidity of the cKES stablecoin on the Uniswap decentralized exchange.
This dashboard serves as a valuable resource for researchers, investors, and stakeholders interested in the cKES stablecoin ecosystem, enabling them to make informed decisions and track the performance and adoption of this Kenyan Shilling-based digital asset.
If you are a DEX or CEX that is interested in integrating cKES, please contact the Mento Labs team here.
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