Is Cronos (CRO) a Good Investment?

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Contributor, Benzinga
May 25, 2022

Decided CRO is a good investment? You can get CRO on Crypto.com today!

Centralized exchanges have demonstrated their pivotal role in the growth of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. Exchanges are intermediaries where different cryptos can be acquired in exchange for fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. Other means of purchasing crypto also are available; however, exchanges make it simple and easily accessible to nearly every consumer. 

Many centralized exchanges come with a variety of pros and cons. This article will discuss why Crypto.com is a top-tier exchange and why that positions Cronos (CRYPTO: CRO) as a potential investment opportunity. 

Disclosure: eToro supports the following currencies: BTC, ADA, DASH, DOGE, EOS, ETH, LTC, NEO, XLM, XTZ, TRX, ZEC. eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. T&Cs apply. *The bonus is available to Benzinga readers in the US for open states only. Served by eToro USA LLC.

What is Cronos (CRO)?

Cronos is the coin of Crypto.com and is native to its blockchain network called the Cronos Chain. 

Cronos is based on the Cosmos (CRYPTO: ATOM) infrastructure, which offers excellent compatibility between various public blockchains, often referred to as interoperability. It can link to other blockchain networks because it is built on the Cosmos ecosystem. Numerous developers desire interoperability, and Cronos has been successful in attracting many projects.

Cronos's network is Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible, extremely versatile and uses a proof-of-authority consensus mechanism.

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Cronos.org states that proof of authority is a “more streamlined and scalable consensus process” that maintains protection by using a multitude of validators managed by a diverse array of parties.

There are five clear distributions of currency for the network, according to Coinmarketcap:

  • 30% — Secondary distribution and launch incentives released in batches on a daily basis over five years from Nov. 14, 2018
  • 20% — Capital reserve, frozen until Nov, 7, 2022
  • 20% — Network long-term incentives, frozen until Nov. 7, 2022
  • 20% — Ecosystem grants, frozen until the launch of Crypto.com Chain Mainnet
  • 10% — Community development

This distribution begs the question: Is this sustainable?

Debit cards rewards have been redacted substantially.

Adjustments to Crypto.com's CRO Credit incentive plan will take effect on June 1, 2022.

Rewards will be reduced, there will be a monthly limitation on cashback, and CRO staking payouts will be phased out. Staking payouts were recently reduced as part of the company's Crypto Earn program.

The CRO coterie has voiced frustrations with the alterations, with several social media users indicating they want to leave. Most concur the adjustments are essential to guarantee long-term sustainability, but these significant changes lead many to believe their rewards can be diminished even further.

Cronos (CRO) Price History

CRO’s market capitalization is around $5 billion, and it currently resides in the top 20 of all cryptocurrencies.

CRO has a total supply of 30 billion coins (after burning 70 billion in 2021) that were produced when the network went live, rendering it a nonmineable coin.

Cryptocurrencies didn’t get off to a good start in 2022, and Cronos is no different in regard to its price action. 

Cronos hit its all-time high on Nov. 22 in 2021, just shy of $1 at 96 cents. It’s now around 20 cents. Although that’s nearly an 80% drop from its all-time high, most similar assets are in the same boat. Conviction in DeFi is fundamental for conviction in Crypto.com’s CRO. 

Cronos (CRO) Competition

CRO is a top central exchange coin and is most comparable to Binance’s BNB and FTX’s FTT coin. BNB’s market cap is currently $50 billion and has fallen 56% from its all-time high. FTT’s market cap is $4 billion and has fallen 65% from its all-time high. 

CRO has a $5 billion market cap and has fallen just over 80% from its all-time high. The stark discrepancy in price decline comes from the alarming news of the rewards being decreased. This could also mean that CRO is at a severe discount relative to the other major exchanges’ coins. 

The prediction of its success is best indicated by the success of its most similarly associated assets. BNB has proven to be quite successful, and intermediaries that are centralized exchanges seem here to stay. Deciphering which exchange can succeed the most and investing intelligently should play a huge role in picking an affiliated token. 

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How to Buy Cronos (CRO)

Cronos should most certainly be purchased through Crypto.com’s exchange. It offers in-app staking features and essentially every utility provided by holding CRO. If you’re planning to buy CRO, the prepaid debit card associated with it is one of the best perks. 

The company has a tiered card system, with the complimentary Midnight Blue card up toward the Obsidian card, which requires staking $400,000 in CRO for 180 days. The other tiers are much more affordable. 

Obviously, the more substantial the incentives, the more the card costs. Among the incentives offered to Obsidian creditors are 5% cash back on card purchases, repayments on premium services from Spotify, Amazon Prime and Netflix, and the greatest staking return.

Best Hardware Wallet For Cronos (CRO)

Although CRO should be purchased and kept within Crypto.com’s custodial hot wallet, if you have excess CRO that is not contributing to the highest-tiered debit card, it should be staked and stored in a cold wallet. 

Cold wallets provide offline security that is unachievable on the internet. The native cryptography of a cryptocurrency innately makes them secure and immutable; however, the intermediaries can be cause for concern. Although extraordinarily safe and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) up to $250,000, it is still a great idea to have physical storage. 

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Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger 

The Ledger cold wallet is the most ubiquitous and acknowledged on the marketplace. The device is a hardware wallet that can be used both online and offline. Ledger interacts through Bluetooth and USB, whether you're using a PC or your cell phone. With Ledger's app, you can also securely safeguard and administer your assets.

Bonus section: Look out for Crypto.com’s next promotional push for new users. Because of the negative price action and unfavorable debit card decisions, Crypto.com’s product team will likely look to have a new attractive novel concept soon.

Cryptocurrency Market Outlook

The market is stagnating in a semi-capitulated place but has the potential to go down more. Amid geopolitical uncertainties and rising inflationary concerns, there seems to be more room for a sell-off. Look out for a technical recession where there are two consecutive quarters of the negative real gross domestic product reported. 

Generally speaking, a market cycle bottom is when a massive company or institution gets into devastating and or immobilizing financial trouble like being liquidated in a hyper-over-leveraged position. Until that happens, which it likely will, there seems to be no sign of a bottom that would result in growth.

CRO and other more centralization-based cryptos seem to have their own price action even though they trend strongly with market averages. 

Is Cronos (CRO) a Good Investment?

Crypto.com is an excellent exchange, and if you’re a fan of the exchange itself, the recent price action puts CRO at a cheap price. Dollar-cost-averaging during times like these is a great strategy to employ rather than timing the bottom. The prepaid debit card is also a very highly developed product from Crypto.com. If your conviction in Crypto.com’s team to innovate and continue to grow beyond their current set of great products, a CRO portfolio allocation with the associated debit card seems like a solid investment.

Disclosure: ²Sum of median estimated savings and rewards earned, per user in 2021 across multiple Coinbase programs (excluding sweepstakes). This amount includes fee waivers from Coinbase One (excluding the subscription cost), rewards from Coinbase Card, and staking rewards. ³Crypto rewards is an optional Coinbase offer. Upon purchase of USDC, you will be automatically opted in to rewards. If you’d like to opt out or learn more about rewards, you can click here. The rewards rate is subject to change and can vary by region. Customers will be able to see the latest applicable rates directly within their accounts
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About Jack Fineman

Jack Fineman is an undergraduate student studying economics at UCSB, President of the Blockchain at UCSB club and starting player for UCSB in the Collegiate Chess League. Jack primarily works on project creation and managerial work for his club and produces Web3 content for Benzinga. Jack is highly passionate about DeFi and blockchain technology, one of his favorite projects is The Helium Network.