Cronos (CRO) serves as the native cryptocurrency token of the Cronos Chain — a decentralized and open-source blockchain crafted by the Crypto.com company, which specializes in payment, trading, and financial services.
The Cronos Chain is a part of Crypto.com’s suite of products aimed at speeding up the worldwide acceptance of cryptocurrencies to enhance individual control over finances, protect personal data, and secure user identities. The primary role of the CRO blockchain is to support the Crypto.com Pay mobile payment application.
Looking ahead, Crypto.com intends to broaden the CRO platform's capabilities to fuel its other offerings as well.
CRO was officially launched between November and December of 2018.
Who Established Cronos?
Cronos was introduced by Crypto.com as a component of its mission to "put cryptocurrency in every wallet." Crypto.com was originally founded in June 2016 under the name "Monaco Technologies GmbH" by Kris Marszalek, Rafael Melo, Gary Or, and Bobby Bao.
Kris Marszalek, who graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland, has a track record of establishing and leading three companies before Crypto.com: Starline Polska, which designs and manufactures consumer electronics, YIYI, a mobile app based on location services, and BEECRAZY, an e-commerce company.
Rafael Melo holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from PUC-Rio. Throughout his over 15-year tenure in finance, Melo has collaborated with prominent companies in Asia and played a role in securing more than 50 million AUD in funding for the Ensogo social commerce platform.
Gary Or is a proficient software engineer with extensive full-stack engineering experience spanning over nine years. Before co-founding Crypto.com, Or served as a platform architect at Ensogo and co-founded the mobile app development company Foris. He earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science from the University of Hong Kong.
Prior to his involvement with Crypto.com, Bobby Bao worked in the mergers and acquisitions department at the China Renaissance investment bank. Bao has an academic background that includes studies at the University of Melbourne, NYU Stern School of Business, and the College of William & Mary.
What Sets Cronos Apart?
The CRO blockchain is mainly dedicated to enhancing the utility for users of Crypto.com’s payment, trading, and financial service offerings.
Those who hold CRO tokens can stake them on the Crypto.com Chain to operate as validators, earning fees for processing network transactions. Furthermore, CRO can be used to pay transaction fees on the Cronos Chain.
Using the Crypto.com Pay app, users can enjoy up to 20% cashback by paying merchants in CRO and up to 10% when purchasing gift cards or transferring funds to others.
For trading purposes, the Crypto.com App enables users to gain token rewards for certain listings by staking CRO.
Additionally, by staking CRO on either the Crypto.com Exchange app or the Crypto.com metal Visa Card, users can earn up to 10-12% annual interest.
In essence, CRO functions as a key element in Crypto.com’s strategy to boost the global adoption of cryptocurrencies. The company is actively exploring and developing new ways for users to utilize this cryptocurrency to gain greater control over their finances, data, and personal information.
How Has Cronos Chain Strengthened CRO's Position?
Cronos Chain hosts a variety of decentralized applications (dApps) and has locked in a total value of over $781.86 million at present, making it one of the most significant EVM-compatible chains. It's the pioneering blockchain allowing interoperability between Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems.
Several dApps on the Cronos Chain, such as VVS Finance, Tectonic Finance, Ferro Protocol, MM Finance, and Single Finance, are contributing to the wider adoption of CRO by using it as the primary means of payment for transactions.
What Is the Circulating Supply of Cronos [CRO] Coins?
The total supply of CRO is capped at 30 billion coins after a burn of 70 billion CRO in 2021, all of which were generated when the blockchain was first launched, making it a non-mineable cryptocurrency.
The distribution of the total CRO supply is allocated for five distinct purposes:
* 30% — Secondary distribution and launch incentives, released in daily batches over five years starting from November 14, 2018;
* 20% — Capital reserve, frozen until November 7, 2022;
* 20% — Network Long-Term Incentives, frozen until November 7, 2022;
* 20% — Ecosystem grants, frozen until the launch of the Crypto.com Chain Mainnet;
* 10% — Community development.
How Is the Security of the Crypto.com Coin Network Ensured?
CRO is established on Ethereum’s blockchain, adhering to the ERC-20 compatibility standard, which ensures its network security through the Ethash function.
Where Can Cronos [CRO] Be Purchased?
CRO tokens are available on several cryptocurrency exchanges, including:
