Introduction to Cronos (CRO)
Cronos (CRO) is the native cryptocurrency token of Cronos Chain, a decentralized, open-source blockchain developed by the Crypto.com payment, trading, and financial services company. The Cronos Chain is part of Crypto.com's suite of solutions designed to accelerate global adoption of cryptocurrencies, enhance personal control over money, protect user data, and secure users' identities. The CRO blockchain primarily powers the Crypto.com Pay mobile payments app, with plans to expand its reach to power other Crypto.com products in the future.
CRO went live in November-December 2018.
Founders of Cronos
Cronos was launched by Crypto.com, founded in June 2016 as "Monaco Technologies GmbH" by Kris Marszalek, Rafael Melo, Gary Or, and Bobby Bao. The founders have backgrounds in entrepreneurship, engineering, finance, and investment banking.
What Makes Cronos Unique?
The CRO blockchain focuses on providing utility to users of Crypto.com's payment, trading, and financial services solutions. CRO owners can stake their coins on the Crypto.com Chain to act as validators and earn fees for processing transactions. Additionally, CRO coins can be used to settle transaction fees on the Cronos Chain.
Crypto.com Pay users can receive cashback for paying merchants in CRO, purchasing gift cards, and making peer-to-peer transfers. The Crypto.com App also allows users to earn token rewards by staking CRO. Furthermore, users can earn annual interest on their CRO by staking them on the Crypto.com Exchange app or Crypto.com's metal Visa Card.
Cronos Chain is an Ethereum-compatible blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK, utilizing a proof-of-authority (PoA) consensus mechanism. Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility allows Ethereum DApps to be ported onto the Cronos Chain.
Impact on CRO Adoption
Cronos Chain hosts various decentralized applications (dApps) with a total value locked (TVL) of over $781.86 million at the time of writing. The first blockchain to enable interoperability between the Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems, Cronos Chain, has played a significant role in driving the adoption of CRO as the main payment method for transactions in dApps such as VVS Finance, Tectonic Finance, Ferro Protocol, MM Finance, and Single Finance.
Coin Circulation
The total supply of CRO is limited to 30 billion coins (following 70 billion CRO burned in 2021), all created when the blockchain went live, making it a non-mineable cryptocurrency. The total supply of CRO is allocated for different purposes, such as secondary distribution, capital reserve, network long-term incentives, ecosystem grants, and community development.
Interoperability
Interoperability is a key feature of the Cronos Chain. It supports the Inter Blockchain Communications (IBC) protocol, enabling seamless communication with the Cosmos ecosystem of dApps. The bridge between Ethereum and Cosmos is expected to be established in the near future, further expanding the possibilities and potential of the Cronos Chain.
Ecosystem Growth
Cronos Chain's ecosystem growth has been supported by initiatives such as the Particle B $100M CRO EVM fund, which incentivizes developers to build on Cronos. This has contributed to the rapid increase in TVL, reaching over $2 billion within three months of the mainnet beta launch.
In conclusion, the Cronos Chain and its native CRO token have shown promising growth and adoption within the cryptocurrency space. The platform's focus on interoperability, Ethereum compatibility, and a growing ecosystem of dApps positions Cronos as a significant player in the blockchain and cryptocurrency landscape. As Crypto.com continues to expand its partnerships and product offerings, the Cronos ecosystem and CRO
