Celo Stablecoins

This skill covers working with stablecoins on the Celo blockchain, including Mento stablecoins and other major stablecoins.

When to Use

• Reading stablecoin balances
• Transferring stablecoins
• Building payment applications
• Working with regional currencies
• Integrating USDC or USDT on Celo

Stablecoin Categories

Mento Stablecoins

Mento Protocol provides decentralized stablecoins pegged to various fiat currencies:

Centralized Stablecoins

Other Stablecoins

Testnet Addresses (Celo Sepolia)

Reading Balances

Using viem

import { createPublicClient, http, formatUnits } from "viem";
import { celo } from "viem/chains";

const publicClient = createPublicClient({
  chain: celo,
  transport: http("https://forno.celo.org"),
});

const ERC20_ABI = [
  {
    name: "balanceOf",
    type: "function",
    stateMutability: "view",
    inputs: [{ name: "account", type: "address" }],
    outputs: [{ type: "uint256" }],
  },
  {
    name: "decimals",
    type: "function",
    stateMutability: "view",
    inputs: [],
    outputs: [{ type: "uint8" }],
  },
] as const;

// USDm (18 decimals)
const USDm = "0x765de816845861e75a25fca122bb6898b8b1282a";

const balance = await publicClient.readContract({
  address: USDm,
  abi: ERC20_ABI,
  functionName: "balanceOf",
  args: ["0xYourAddress"],
});

console.log("USDm Balance:", formatUnits(balance, 18));

// USDC (6 decimals)
const USDC = "0xcebA9300f2b948710d2653dD7B07f33A8B32118C";

const usdcBalance = await publicClient.readContract({
  address: USDC,
  abi: ERC20_ABI,
  functionName: "balanceOf",
  args: ["0xYourAddress"],
});

console.log("USDC Balance:", formatUnits(usdcBalance, 6));

Transferring Stablecoins

Using viem

import { createWalletClient, http, parseUnits } from "viem";
import { privateKeyToAccount } from "viem/accounts";
import { celo } from "viem/chains";

const account = privateKeyToAccount("0xYourPrivateKey");

const walletClient = createWalletClient({
  account,
  chain: celo,
  transport: http("https://forno.celo.org"),
});

const ERC20_ABI = [
  {
    name: "transfer",
    type: "function",
    stateMutability: "nonpayable",
    inputs: [
      { name: "to", type: "address" },
      { name: "amount", type: "uint256" },
    ],
    outputs: [{ type: "bool" }],
  },
] as const;

const USDm = "0x765de816845861e75a25fca122bb6898b8b1282a";

// Transfer 10 USDm
const hash = await walletClient.writeContract({
  address: USDm,
  abi: ERC20_ABI,
  functionName: "transfer",
  args: ["0xRecipientAddress", parseUnits("10", 18)],
});

console.log("Transaction hash:", hash);

Transfer USDC (6 decimals)

const USDC = "0xcebA9300f2b948710d2653dD7B07f33A8B32118C";

// Transfer 10 USDC (note: 6 decimals)
const hash = await walletClient.writeContract({
  address: USDC,
  abi: ERC20_ABI,
  functionName: "transfer",
  args: ["0xRecipientAddress", parseUnits("10", 6)],
});

Using cast (Foundry)

# Check USDm balance
cast call 0x765de816845861e75a25fca122bb6898b8b1282a \
  "balanceOf(address)(uint256)" \
  0xYourAddress \
  --rpc-url https://forno.celo.org

# Transfer USDm
cast send 0x765de816845861e75a25fca122bb6898b8b1282a \
  "transfer(address,uint256)" \
  0xRecipientAddress \
  10000000000000000000 \
  --rpc-url https://forno.celo.org \
  --private-key $PRIVATE_KEY

Decimal Handling

Always check the decimals of a token before formatting or parsing amounts.

Getting Test Tokens

1. Get CELO from faucet: https://faucet.celo.org
2. Swap CELO for stablecoins on Mento: https://app.mento.org

Additional Resources

• token-addresses.md - Complete token address reference