Coin columns · Mainnet Province
Cronos (CRO): the coin of the chains grown by Crypto.com
An exchange perk token that also fuels the Cronos chains
CRO is a token launched in 2018 by Crypto.com, an exchange and payments app, and today it is the own coin of the Cronos chains, used for fees and staking. It wears two hats at once: a perk token inside the exchange and the fuel of a blockchain.
1. Who built it
Crypto.com was started in Hong Kong in 2016 by Kris Marszalek and others under the name Monaco, and it has grown into a large crypto company running an exchange, an app and payment cards. CRO was first issued as an Ethereum token and became the own coin of its own chain when that chain opened in 2021.
There are two chains. Cronos POS Chain, which launched in March 2021 under the name Crypto.org Chain, focuses on payments and staking. Cronos EVM, launched in November 2021, is a smart-contract chain where Ethereum apps can be deployed unchanged, and the Cronos team and Crypto.com lead development and ecosystem support.
2. How it works
Both chains are built with the Cosmos SDK and run on proof of stake, in which validators who lock up coins produce blocks. Cronos EVM is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, so wallets such as MetaMask and apps written in Solidity work as they are, and IBC, the messaging standard of Cosmos chains, links it to other networks.
CRO pays for gas on both chains and is staked by validators. Inside Crypto.com, staking CRO unlocks card tiers, rewards and trading-fee discounts, so the token also behaves like an exchange token.
3. Milestones
In February 2021, before opening its own chain, Crypto.com burned 70 billion CRO, 70% of the total supply. In March 2025, however, a community vote approved reissuing those 70 billion CRO into a strategic reserve wallet that vests over several years, restoring the original maximum supply of 100 billion. In May 2025 the US asset manager Canary Capital applied for a spot CRO ETF that would stake its holdings.
In August 2025, a plan with Trump Media & Technology Group to create a listed company holding large amounts of CRO was announced, but it was terminated in August 2026. On the Crypto Nation map, CRO is the city-hall tower of the Cronos neighbourhood in the Mainnet Province, with tokens issued on Cronos around it.
4. Things to know
Critics said the 2025 reissue vote passed only because large validators widely believed to be linked to Crypto.com cast a wave of votes at the last minute. Most independent validators opposed it, which fuelled complaints that a chain described as decentralized is effectively steered by one company.
Much of CRO’s usefulness depends on Crypto.com’s business decisions, such as card perks and fee discounts, so a change of policy changes what the token is for. The release schedule of the reissued reserve and shifting exchange regulation in different countries are also worth watching.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.