Cronos

Cronos (CRO) is the native token of the Cronos ecosystem, which is closely associated with the Crypto.com exchange. The token originated in 2018 as Crypto.com Coin before being rebranded to Cronos, and it powers both the exchange's reward programs — including its well-known crypto Visa card — and the Cronos blockchain, an EVM-compatible Layer 1 network.

How it works

The Cronos chain is built on the Cosmos SDK and connects to other Cosmos-based networks through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. Because it is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, developers can deploy Solidity smart contracts and use familiar Ethereum tooling while benefiting from fast block times, quick finality, and very low fees. According to the project, the network targets high throughput with sub-second block times and fees below a cent. CRO is used to pay transaction fees on the chain and can be staked to support network security and earn rewards.

CRO has a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens. In 2021 the project executed one of the largest token burns in the industry's history, permanently destroying 70 billion CRO from the originally larger supply as part of its move toward a more decentralized mainnet.

Role in the ecosystem

CRO serves a dual role. Within Crypto.com's products it functions as an exchange token, unlocking trading fee discounts, card cashback tiers, and other benefits for users who hold or stake it. On the Cronos chain it is the gas and staking asset for a growing set of DeFi, NFT, and gaming applications. The project has more recently positioned Cronos as infrastructure for compliant tokenized markets and AI-accessible on-chain services, extending its scope beyond the exchange that spawned it.