2023 was full of milestones ecosystem-wide. As we head into 2024, join us as we reflect on a transformative year with our global community. Here’s a list of 17 highlights you may have missed:
2023 Highlights (TL;DR)
An ever-improving product: All throughout 2023, we’ve added new features to improve the Valora user experience, including…
- Quick actions and better onboarding: Navigate Valora’s home screen, receive relevant alerts, and launch into the quick actions with ease.
- New cash-in/cash-out partners: Enjoy lower fees and speedy cash-ins with Coinbase Pay, MoonPay, and more. More partners = more options to get started.
- Dapp shortcuts, favorites, and more: Simplified dapp shortcuts make it easy to complete dapp transactions and view your dapp positions right from the app.
- NFTs in-app, asset details, and hide/unhide balance: Browse your NFT collection under “View Assets,” hide your balance in Valora, and tap to view your asset details.
- Expanded swaps, featuring 50+ new assets: Easily swap your favorite assets in-app, with quick access to Wrapped BTC, ETH, SOL, Binance (BNB), and more!
A growing global community: From the largest NFT drop on Celo, to ecosystem partnerships, to the launch of our ambassador program, it’s been a great year to be part of the Valora community.
- #YourValora was the largest NFT drop on Celo, sending 260,000 personalized NFTs to users in over 100 countries.
- Valora’s Dapp Spotlight series was a 14-week program highlighting the variety of exciting dapps being built in the Celo ecosystem.
- EthCC 2023 was jam-packed with big announcements and Valora-hosted events at Celo’s Co:OPERATE. Our team also touched down at ETHMilan and Devconnect, to name a few.
- Valora visited Nigeria this year to meet with users and launch our first community programs with local crypto enthusiasts and university students.
What’s Next? We have big plans for 2024 and can’t wait to share what’s in store for our global community. Is there a new integration or feature you’d like to see in Valora? Submit a feature request, or tell us what you think on X!
An Ever-Improving Product
There is now even more to love in Valora, with new features designed to improve accessibility and discoverability. We heard your feedback and spent 2023 streamlining the first-time user experience, improving navigation, and ensuring privacy and control are at your fingertips. Here are just a few updates you may have noticed.
A simplified first-time experience:
1. Quick actions and better onboarding: It’s easier than ever to navigate Valora, with a dedicated navigation center for relevant alerts and updates, as well as a quick actions menu right on the home screen.
2. New cash-in/cash-out partners: More options mean lower fees and easier onboarding. We’ve added new partners for getting started in Valora! Coinbase Pay, LoveCrypto, and Moonpay are now available for users in supported markets. Thanks to our partnership with FiatConnect, on and off-ramps powered by local partners are now available in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Brazil.
3. Fee transparency: You can now see the total amount of crypto you will receive for your fiat, as well as transparent exchange rates when swapping assets.
Easier navigation:
4. Introducing dapp shortcuts: A new and simplified way to accomplish simple dapp transactions and view dapp positions. Dapp shortcuts allow you to view your dapp positions directly from the Valora wallet, making it easier to track where and how you’re earning.
- If you are interested in seeing a specific dapp shortcut in Valora, please reach out. We are working with our dapp partners to make more options available soon!
5. Dapp favorites: Favorite your most-used dapps under the dapps feed and view your recently used dapps on your home screen, above your transaction feed, for seamless use.
6. View NFTs in-app: NFTs also have a new home in-app, now located under Collectibles.
More options and better control:
7. View asset details and hide your balance: You can now hide your balance in Valora, giving you better privacy, and tap to view your asset details with ease.
8. New expanded swaps feature: It’s now easier than ever to swap between 50+ popular cryptocurrencies on the Celo network. We recently released the ability to swap in-app via our new “Expanded Swaps” feature. By expanding support for these currencies, you can seamlessly hold and trade blue-chip assets inexpensively.
Building a Global Community
The team was busy this year! In case you missed it:
Exciting Campaigns
9. #YourValora - the largest NFT drop on Celo in 2023: Earlier this year, we launched #YourValora, sending 260k NFTs to Valora users in over 100 countries. This was the largest NFT drop to date on Celo, with the collection including 9 “crypto personas” reflecting the different types of on-chain activity Valora users preferred in the previous year. The campaign triggered a positive response from our community– reaching 2 million impressions on Twitter and tweets from the community in more than 13 languages.
10. Valora “Dapp Spotlight” series: In April, we kicked off our 2023 Dapp Spotlight series - a 14-week program highlighting the variety of exciting dapps being built in the Celo ecosystem. Projects like:
- HaloFi, providing fun, gamified ways to hit your savings goals;
- JumpTask, showcasing real opportunities for micro work in the Web3 gig economy;
- Plastiks, featuring an exclusive NFT collection with FC Barcelona;
- GoodDollar, empowering communities around the globe with daily G$ - the largest UBI program in the world; and
- Mento, exploring the world of stable assets for every country, including the Celo Dollar (cUSD), cEUR, cREAL, and now the Mento eXOF for West Africa.
Learn more about dapps on our blog!
Events
11. Valora at EthCC: EthCC was a busy conference for the Valora team this year, packed with big announcements and Valora-hosted events at Celo’s Co:OPERATE.
- Valora President and Celo Founder Marek Olszewski announced Celo’s upcoming transition from an alt-L1 to an Ethereum L2, celebrating Celo’s “coming home” to Ethereum in 2024.
- Valora CEO Jackie Bona provided the Keynote at Co:OPERATE, offering lessons to builders on the importance of mobile in making crypto accessible to global audiences around the world.
- Valora’s CTO, Silas Boyd-Wickizer, spoke on Co:OPERATE’s panel, “the Web3 Wish List”, detailing the protocols and products the industry is still waiting to see.
- Valora Engineering Partner Jean Regisser gave a mobile dapp workshop, demonstrating Valora’s new dapp plugin features to new builders at EthCC.
12. ETHMilan: Jackie Bona took the stage again at ETHMilan this year, discussing the importance of a user-friendly and fun experience on mobile.
13. Stablecoin Summit 2023: Marek Olszewski spoke at Stablecoin Summit 2023 about Celo's payment apps (like Valora), enabling the effortless transfer of stable value across the world with just a mobile phone.
14. Devconnect: Jean Regisser represented Valora at Devconnect with a workshop on simplifying wallet-initiated connections to dapps.
Community Activity
15. Valora in Nigeria: The Valora team was on the ground in Nigeria this year to meet with users and to launch our first community programs with the local crypto community and university students. The team gathered valuable feedback from builders, ecosystem partners, and ambassadors, met with local partners, and debuted Valora to the African tech ecosystem at the TechCabal Moonshot conference.
16. New ambassador program: We launched the first version of the Valora ambassador program in December, welcoming our first 20 Valora ambassadors in Nigeria. The program will be expanding in January, and if you’re interested in joining, you can apply here.
17. Coming soon: We look forward to this coming year of continued collaboration with our partners and expanding the Valora ecosystem to drive valuable user experiences in more markets around the world.
What’s Next? We Want to Hear From You!
We’re excited to keep growing the Valora community around the world and move forward in our mission to make crypto accessible for everyone. We have big plans for 2024 and can’t wait to share what’s in store 💫
