Cronos(CRO)

Launched in November 2021 by Singapore-based Crypto.com, Cronos is one of the two important blockchains in the Crypto.com ecosystem (the other one being the Crypto.org chain). It is an open-source, decentralized EVM-compatible blockchain created atop the Cosmos network, using the Cosmos SDK.

Cronos blockchain was created keeping the Web 3.0 creator economy in mind. Offering support for GameFi and DeFi decentralized applications, as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), it is intended to serve as the foundational infrastructure for metaverses. Owing to its EVM-compatibility and use of Cosmos’ Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, Cronos allows for easy porting of DApps, crypto assets and smart contracts from Ethereum, other EVM-compatible and IBC-enabled blockchains. 

CRO price

CRO coin went live in Nov-Dec 2018, much before the Cronos chain launch in late 2021. However, CRO price stayed mostly under $1 per token before the Cronos chain went live. Boosted by the market-wide bullish trend as well as the Cronos launch, CRO price closed in on $1 for the first time in November 2021. It registered a noteworthy upward rally that month and reached its all-time high of $0.96 on Nov. 24, 2021. At its ATH, CRO’s fully diluted valuation stood at a little over $30 billion.

While CRO price retraced to $0.33 by late January 2022, amidst broader crypto market sell-offs, it reclaimed some lost ground in the month to follow, and breached the $0.5 resistance in February 2022. As per our CRO live price chart, after sustained downward pressure in the following months, the price of CRO coin couldn’t hold support at $0.3, and receded under $0.2 in May 2022.

How CRO works

Built atop the Cosmos network, Cronos is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible blockchain that runs parallel to the Crypto.com ecosystem’s other blockchain - Crypto.org. The utility token of both Cronos and Crypto.org chains, however, is CRO, a token built using the native CRC-20 or Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. CRO is responsible for powering the overall Crypto.com ecosystem and holds utility across multiple use cases, including in the company’s trading, financial and payment services.

Cronos is powered by Etheremint, which facilitates easy DApp portability from Ethereum as well as other EVM-compatible blockchains. Being an EVM blockchain built using the Cosmos SDK, Cronos is one of the few blockchains that benefits from both Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems.

Cronos secures its network through a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism that depends on reputed and well-known validators for block production. As computational power stays concentrated this way, it leads to much faster transactions, further boosted by Tendermint’s Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) algorithm. Validators in such a consensus system are bound to preserve their nodal integrity, as their reputation and identity is at stake.

CRO news, updates and highlights

In a major CRO news development, Crypto.com ceased to offer support for its earlier MCO token in November 2020. The company merged MCO coin's functions with the technology and utility of CRO, making the latter the only token of the Crypto.com ecosystem. The main intent behind this was to simplify the workings of various Crypto.com offerings. As a result, MCO holders were asked to swap MCO tokens for CRO at a 1:27 ratio.

More recently in Jan 2022, the Cronos team highlighted the CRO journey so far and discussed the roadmap for 2022. According to the Cronos Community Roadmap for the year 2022, the Cronos team aspires to propel the blockchain to the list of Top 5 blockchains by total value locked (TVL). It aims to accomplish this by providing better interoperability, enhanced infrastructure for developers and expansion of the platform’s NFT, GameFi, Metaverse and DeFi ecosystems. A $100 million fund has already been set aside to boost projects being developed on the Cronos blockchain.

Additionally, in February 2022, ‘Crypto.org Coin’, the utility token of Crypto.org and Cronos blockchains was rebranded as Cronos, reflecting the coin’s decentralization and tremendous growth witnessed in the Cronos ecosystem.

Frequently asked questions about CRO

• Is it possible to mine or stake CRO?

While you cannot mine CRO tokens, it’s possible to stake your CRO holdings for staking rewards. Here are more details on how to stake CRO on Crypto.com exchange and Crypto.com app.

• What are some of the best CRO wallets?

Crypto.com recommends storing your CRO tokens in its native DeFi wallet. That said, you can use third-party wallets like MetaMask, Ledger, Coinomi and Trezor too.

• What can you do with CRO?

You can use CRO tokens to pay for various services offered across the Crypto.com ecosystem, including in Crypto.com Pay, Crypto.com App, Crypto.com Exchange and Crypto.com Earn.

• How to buy CRO?

Buying CRO tokens is easy. You may either purchase them through the Crypto.com exchange/app, or from other reputed crypto exchange platforms. You’ll often find CRO paired with Bitcoin and top altcoins like ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA and more.