Crypto.com Quietly Brought Back 70 Billion CRO Tokens That Were Originally Burned in 2021

On March 25, the blockchain investigator ZachXBT accused Crypto.com of quietly

March 25 -- Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has accused Crypto.com of quietly bringing back 70 billion Cronos (CRO) tokens that were originally declared permanently burned in 2021.

The tokens belong to the Cronos (CRO) blockchain, which is closely linked to Crypto.com. In 2021, Crypto.com burned the 70 billion CRO tokens to reduce the token's supply. Burning refers to permanently removing tokens from circulation.

At the time, Crypto.com stated that the move was done to help decentralize the Cronos network ahead of its mainnet launch, calling it the "largest token burn in history."

However, ZachXBT now claims that Crypto.com reissued the same 70 billion tokens just a week ago. That amount represents about 70% of CRO’s total supply.

"Isn't this the same 70 billion tokens that were burnt in 2021? We're ba mum now," ZachXBT posted on X, formerly Twitter. "CRO is no different from a scam."

Crypto.com completely ignored the community’s expectations and used its control over the network to make the change, the investigator added.

Reissuing such a large amount of tokens can affect the value of CRO. When the supply of a token increases suddenly, it often leads to a drop in its price because there are now more tokens available in the market.

The decision also goes against the values of transparency and decentralization, critics say. Many people in the crypto space believe that once tokens are burned, they should never return. Bringing them back breaks that trust.

There are also questions about how the decision was made. Reports suggest that Crypto.com controls 70% to 80% of the voting power on the Cronos blockchain. This means they can approve major changes, even if the wider community disagrees.

In a public AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on X, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek defended the decision, saying the original burn in 2021 was done as a "defensive move."

Now, he believes times have changed and pointed out that with better support from the U.S. government, there’s a chance to invest more aggressively in the U.S. market.

"This is what the community wants. It’s like thinking in cents when we should be thinking in dollars," Marszalek said.

He also said Cronos and Crypto.com have been operating as separate entities for years.

The token reissuance came shortly after news broke that Trump Media had signed a non-binding agreement with Crypto.com. The deal involves launching U.S.-based crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through Crypto.com’s U.S. affiliate, Foris Capital.

The timing of the deal and Trump Media’s decision to work with Crypto.com instead of other exchanges like Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Kraken or Gemini sparked questions from ZachXBT.