Cronos plans to reissue 70 billion CRO tokens, cancelling the burn from 2021 and restoring the total supply to 100 billion, with a five-year vesting period.
This decision has sparked criticism, with some viewing it as a dubious strategic reversal that undermines the project’s credibility after one of the largest token burns in history.
Crypto.com is aiming for a CRO-based ETF, seeking to attract institutional investors, but the reissue raises doubts about the financial strength of the Cronos ecosystem.
Debate over the CRO reissue
The Cronos blockchain, developed by Crypto.com, is considering a controversial decision: to reissue 70 billion CRO tokens that were previously burned in 2021. This would restore the total supply of CRO to its initial level of 100 billion. These tokens, with an estimated value of $6.3 billion, would be placed in a strategic reserve wallet with a five-year vesting period.
This proposal comes as Crypto.com plans to apply for an ETF based on CRO, a move aimed at capturing the growing interest of institutions in digital assets.
A reversal from the 2021 policy
In 2021, the destruction of these 70 billion tokens was hailed as one of the biggest burn operations in the history of cryptocurrencies. This strategic choice aimed to promote decentralization before the launch of the Cronos mainnet. At the time, the reduction in the total supply of CRO from 100 billion to 30 billion increased the project’s credibility and investor confidence.
Today, the reversal has raised questions. The proposal has been criticized on Twitter, with some seeing it as a step back, while others consider the initiative questionable.
An evolution marked by strategic choices
Crypto.com has undergone several transformations since its inception. Originally launched as Monaco Coin (MCO) for its crypto Visa card program, the project later migrated to its own blockchain under the name CRO, before becoming Cronos in 2021. Its mainnet, based on the Cosmos SDK, was deployed in November of the same year. Since then, developers have also worked on a Layer 2 solution, Cronos zkEVM on Ethereum.
With a circulating supply of 27.3 billion tokens and a supply cap of 30 billion, CRO currently has a market capitalization of $2.4 billion. This reissue announcement coincided with a more than 12% increase in the price of CRO in the last 24 hours.
A strategic decision or a negative signal?
The idea of restoring the initial supply of CRO could be seen as an attempt to strengthen the financial capabilities of the Cronos ecosystem and attract new institutional investors. However, this proposal poses a credibility challenge. By reversing a strong commitment made in 2021, Crypto.com risks shaking the confidence of its community.
The question remains: is this reissue a strategic necessity or an admission of financial fragility? The answer will depend on how Cronos and Crypto.com justify this decision in the face of growing criticism.
