Crypto.com Slashes CRO Lockup Rewards by 25% or More
Crypto.com announced it will reduce annual rewards on new $CRO lockups starting Thursday, cutting rates by at least 25% across its premium card tiers. The move marks another chapter in a multi-year pattern of roadmap revisions, retracted promotions, and altered token economics that have frustrated retail holders.
New Lockup Rates Effective Thursday
According to the update, the revised annual percentages for new lockups are:
- Obsidian/Private tier: 6% (down from 9%)
- Icy/Rose/Private tier: 5% (down from 8.5%)
- Jade/Indigo/Pro tier: 3% (down from 4%)
These reductions follow a 75% price decline for $CRO over the past year. Since its all-time high in November 2021, the token has lost 93% of its value, a drop that coincides with repeated benefit cuts, layoffs, and the recent Cronos blockchain outage that erased several hours of on-chain activity.
From Monaco to Crypto.com: A History of Shifted Terms
The current reward structure traces back to Monaco, Crypto.com’s predecessor. Monaco originally sold MCO with an “asset contract” funded by a 1% fee on certain card transactions, allowing holders to burn MCO for a proportional share of that contract. By late 2017, Monaco removed the asset contract from its roadmap, citing regulatory changes, and replaced it with a cashback rate of up to 2%.
In November 2018, Crypto.com promised 60 monthly $CRO airdrops to eligible MCO holders over five years. The program ended in June 2019—roughly seven months in—with more than 50 scheduled distributions never delivered. The remaining allocation was redirected elsewhere.
During 2020, the company pushed MCO holders to migrate to $CRO on a new blockchain contract, then ceased support for unswapped MCO across its product suite. While the MCO token technically survives on Ethereum, its company-backed utility does not.
Card Benefits Continue to Contract
In May 2022, Crypto.com cut cashback rates and initially planned to eliminate card staking rewards entirely after 180-day terms expired. Community backlash prompted a partial reversal within days, allowing existing users to retain prior rates until expiry.
Since then, premium perks have steadily diminished:
- Vendor rebates: Airbnb, Expedia, and Amazon Prime rebates—advertised for top tiers in 2020—will be removed from Icy, Rose, and Obsidian rewards programs by 2025.
- Non-staking spend rewards: The 1% and 2% cashback on cards issued before November 6, 2024, has been eliminated.
- Lounge access: Restricted in September 2025 to users with an active $CRO lockup, stake, or annual subscription. This month, Pro users saw annual visits halved, and Private tiers lost complimentary guest access in most markets.
Token Burn Reversed: 70 Billion CRO Re-minted
Perhaps the most consequential shift involves token supply. In February 2021, Crypto.com conducted a 70 billion $CRO burn, framing it as a step toward full decentralization. In 2025, the Cronos ecosystem—aligned with Crypto.com—announced plans to re-mint those same 70 billion tokens into a “Strategic Reserve,” effectively reversing the burn.
Combined with the latest lockup reward cuts, the decision underscores a broader trend: retail investors have absorbed significant supply inflation and repeated benefit reductions while institutional partners appear to receive preferential treatment.
As Crypto.com prepares to implement the new rates on Thursday, the community watches for further signals about the platform’s long-term commitment to its token holders and the stability of the Cronos network.
