Cronos

CRO is the coin of Crypto.com and its Cronos blockchains, used to pay network fees, secure Cronos through staking and unlock app perks.

CRO was created by Crypto.com, a large crypto exchange and app. It first appeared on 14 November 2018 as a token on Ethereum. It later became the native coin of Crypto.org Chain, now called Cronos POS Chain, and the coin that pays fees on Cronos EVM, a blockchain compatible with Ethereum apps. Both chains are built with the Cosmos SDK, a common toolkit for blockchains.

CRO's supply has changed several times by vote. The original 100 billion CRO were cut when 70 billion were burned in 2021. In March 2025 a disputed governance vote reissued those 70 billion into a 'strategic reserve' that vests in equal monthly parts over five years (about 1.17 billion CRO a month). On 27 September 2026 the chain reported about 98.95 billion CRO in total, and CoinGecko counted about 49.75 billion in circulation. New CRO is still created at about 1% a year, and a May 2026 upgrade makes this issuance shrink month by month toward zero.

CRO pays transaction fees on Cronos EVM. Holders can stake it with validators on Cronos POS Chain. Since the May 2026 upgrade, stakers can also lock CRO for one, two or four years for a bonus rate, paid at first from the CRO reserve. In the Crypto.com app, CRO is used for membership perks and bonus rewards. In September 2026 Cronos Labs asked holders to approve using all revenue from its new products, Ult and Cronos Launch, to buy and burn CRO; the vote ends on 3 October 2026.

Crypto.com stays closely tied to CRO. It deployed the token, the Cronos EVM validators are admitted by invitation, and critics suspected that validators controlled by Crypto.com cast the late votes that carried the 2025 reserve vote. Crypto.com also runs products that matter for a Shariah review: derivatives, including US prediction markets centred on sports (its OG platform, launched in February 2026), and yield products. The US SEC closed its investigation of Crypto.com in March 2025 without taking action.