Orchid's VPN is now live on Celo --- meaning that anyone can use the Orchid dApp by funding it with CELO on Celo.

Orchid is a decentralized bandwidth marketplace. Buyers pay as they go for bandwidth ($0.06/GB) on the Orchid VPN app to get around firewalls and protect their privacy. Sellers receive payments in real-time as they provide service and stake OXT to compete for service requests.

Unlike most VPNs, Orchid is decentralized --- meaning that Orchid does not run a server that stores your web browsing data or history.

Anyone can check out how Orchid's L2 nanopayment system works by making an account, funding it with CELO on Celo, and connecting to Orchid's VPN app.

Why Celo?

Celo is a mobile-first blockchain focused on making global payments and access to decentralized finance products and services easier than ever. The fully EVM-compatible, proof-of-stake, layer-1 protocol features a fast ultralight client and native stablecoins collateralized by crypto and natural assets.

As activity, and therefore gas fees, rise on the Ethereum network, Orchid has adopted a multichain strategy to make its decentralized VPN marketplace affordable and accessible to all.

Celo's low fees, mobile-first approach, and engaged global community make it an exciting blockchain for Orchid.

"We are excited to work with Celo, a mobile-first blockchain. Our Android and iOS VPN clients are perfect for a mobile audience. Combined with low fees and great tooling support we couldn't be happier with Celo." said Travis Cannell, Orchid's head of product.

How to use the Orchid VPN on Celo

The basic steps to use Orchid on Celo are detailed here. In short:

• Connect your wallet to the Celo chain and get enough CELO in that wallet for the balance + deposit + funding fee
• Download the Orchid app, add your funding wallet and then select and copy the Orchid identity you want to fund
• Open the dapp at account.orchid.com
• Connect your funding wallet and paste in the Orchid identity
• Add funds! The app will then have a connected, funded account

Click here for details on how to bridge CELO from Ethereum/Polygon to the Celo network. There are also exchanges that support direct withdrawal onto Celo, including Gate.io, KuCoin and Binance.

About probabilistic nanopayments, Orchid's unique Layer 2 solution

Orchid's unique system of probabilistic nanopayments is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Layer 2 solution that enables tiny amounts of money to be sent as off-chain probabilities. The technology is emerging as a new form of rollup, differentiated from zero-knowledge rollups or more traditional rollups. A "probabilistic rollup" allows for many off-chain transactions to be sent that eventually settle using probability. When users buy VPN bandwidth on Orchid, transactions are sent as nanopayments, each of which is worth approximately one one-thousandth (1/1,000) of a penny, depending upon how the account is configured. Probabilistic nanopayments allow Orchid users access to a unique pay-as-you-go model for VPN service. Orchid never charges fixed fees or monthly subscriptions (as many centralized VPNs do), making its bandwidth market truly trustless and decentralized.

Privacy is Orchid's mission. Probabilistic nanopayments, along with this integration with Celo are two critical components of Orchid's goal of making online privacy accessible to people everywhere -- restoring the Internet as a place of freedom and exploration in the process.

Click here to download Orchid today.

You can also join the Orchid community on Twitter, Telegram, and Discord.

About Celo

Celo is a carbon-negative, Layer-1 protocol with a rich ecosystem of global partners building Web3 applications, including in DeFi, NFTs, and payments, in support of Celo's mission to create a more accessible and inclusive global financial system. Accessible to anyone with a smartphone, the Celo ecosystem consists of a decentralized, proof-of-stake blockchain technology stack (Celo Protocol), the CELO token, and stablecoins (cUSD, cEUR, cREAL) that offer real people everywhere the opportunity to use crypto like everyday money. Additionally, the ecosystem is supported by key projects and protocols, such as Valora, Ubeswap, Moola, Good Ghosting, Mobius, ReSource Network, and more, as well as the Alliance for Prosperity, which consists of over 150 mission-aligned Celo Foundation members around the globe, including Deutsche Telekom, Kickstarter, PayU, Opera, Andreessen Horowitz, Anchorage, Coinbase, GSMA and the Grameen Foundation, among others. For more information, please visit: celo.org.