Crypto.com is facing intense backlash, culminating in allegations of unethical financial maneuvering. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT accused the exchange of reissuing 70 billion Cronos (CRO) tokens despite promising in 2021 that they had been permanently burned.
Crypto.com’s recent partnership with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) has further fueled the controversy.
ZachXBT, the blockchain sleuth known for exposing scams, took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out Crypto.com’s token re-issuance. The comments came as Crypto.com secured a major partnership with Truth Social, the social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). This move has raised eyebrows.
“CRO is no different from a scam. Your team just reissued 70B CRO a week ago that was previously burned ‘forever’ in 2021 (70% total supply) and went against the community’s wishes as you control the majority of the supply,” ZachXBT expressed.
According to the blockchain investigator, Truth Media would be better positioned to partner with Coinbase or Gemini exchanges or Jesse Powell’s Kraken, among other exchanges, than its collaboration with Crypto.com.
The revelation sparked immediate outrage among the crypto community. Many believed the 70 billion CRO tokens were gone permanently.
The promise of burning these tokens was positioned as a deflationary measure. Specifically, it would help increase the asset’s value and improve investor confidence. Many feel betrayed, accusing Crypto.com of misleading its users for financial gain.
Crypto.com’s decision to re-mint the CRO tokens sparked widespread outrage. The exchange had previously claimed the burn was final, but blockchain records show the tokens have been reinstated. This has caused investors to lose faith in the exchange’s credibility. Many view the move as a blatant manipulation of tokenomics.
A report from Unchained Crypto pointed out that the promise of token burns being “forever” is often misleading. Developers still hold the keys to the smart contracts, potentially allowing them to reverse past burns. In this case, Crypto.com’s actions have confirmed those fears.
“CRO’s out here doing a full 180 like it’s auditioning for The Real Scams of Crypto,” crypto commentator Gem Insider remarked.
Moreover, allegations suggest that Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek may have used substantial influence to secure the deal with Truth Social.
“Kris must be lobbying hard,” user Solionxbt commented on X.
Further fueling skepticism, TMTG’s stock soared 9% after announcing the prospective Cronos ETF (exchange-traded fund) partnership. The surge came despite the company reporting a staggering $400 million loss in 2024. This led some to question the ethics of the partnership.
“I remember the good old days when Presidents didn’t grift while in power,” X user SatoadshiLite quipped.
While Crypto.com has yet to issue a detailed response to the allegations, the damage to its reputation may be long-lasting. The partnership with TMTG was expected to boost legitimacy, but now the firm seems overshadowed by allegations of deception and financial manipulation.
Despite the controversy, Cronos (CRO) price is up by over 30% in the last 24 hours. It was trading for $0.11 as of this writing.
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