When it comes to buying cryptocurrency, most people before this year resorted to the largest exchanges, namely Binance and Coinbase (in the US). But there is one exchange that has really leaped the ranks this year, making headlines along the way, and that is Crypto.com. Personally, if it wasn’t for Binance exiting Ontario due to regulations, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon Crypto.com - a simple-to-use exchange that offers a wide variety of coins.

Now, I’m not a fan of spending time reviewing an exchange. I mean really, besides a $25 new user sign-up promo, is there really a Free Lunch opportunity? Nonetheless, if people are really interested in an app review, I’m certain they could easily find an honest one on Google. But I’m covering Crypto.com today because more than an exchange, Crypto.com is actually in the midst of building up their own ecosystem, highlighted by a CRO token where its price appreciated 6x over the three months from Sept to Nov.

Fortune Favours the Brave

To understand Crypto.com, we first have to start with marketing.

Crypto.com spends a shit ton on marketing.

It is likely you may have already seen the $100 million Matt Damon campaign which is airing in more than 20 countries around the world. If not, I guarantee you will come across it whether it’s on billboards, buildings, airports, subway stations, theatres, social media, you name it. The campaign goes something like this…

Then, there’s the targeted marketing to diehard and casual sports fans. Considering sports fans are likely to be more familiar and open to crypto, there is a ton of strategic value in Crypto.com reaching this group first.

These sports partnerships include football with Paris Saint-Germain and Italy’s Serie A league, Formula 1 racing, UFC professional fighting, and basketball with the Philadelphia 76ers. Additionally, don’t forget the $700 million 20-year deal to rename the iconic Staples Center in LA to Crypto.com Arena. Imagine the reach of Crypto.com when fans tune in to watch Lebron and the Lakers this Christmas. Incredible.

Outside of the typical “refer a friend” viral user growth strategy, Crypto.com is also taking advantage of the crypto marketing strategy - which is marketing by leveraging its own native token, CRO.

For users of Crypto.com, CRO can be used in a variety of ways including staking for rewards through their Supercharger, staking for a metal Visa card, paying/ earning cash back, and much more. All of these features are helping Crypto.com build a community with aligned incentives. If you own CRO tokens like most Crypto.com users, you are going to want its price to go up. The easiest way to do this is by referring more people to the ecosystem. I have already seen this play out in my personal life. I have yet to meet anyone with a Crypto.com metal card who has not tried to “show” and persuade their friends whenever they get the chance (more on these cards later).

Quite shockingly, it is likely Crypto.com must have spent over $1 billion dollars on marketing this year alone. But if we take a step back to look at the bigger picture, all of this spending is helping accomplish one thing and that is bringing Crypto.com to the masses. If Crypto.com was a business school case study, it would be the perfect example of the mere-exposure effect. People seeing Crypto.com here and Crypto.com there inevitably builds up credibility and familiarity. Additionally, I can’t think of a better brand name than using the term that describes the industry shift itself - Crypto.

Given most Crypto exchanges make their profits from transaction fees, we know the more people Crypto.com can bring in through their marketing, the better it is for their ecosystem and for all CRO token holders. Only time will tell, but if they are able to market themselves successfully to the masses, the sky’s the limit for CRO.

Crypto.com App Experience

It’s no secret the number one deciding factor for users when it comes to choosing which exchange to use is the fees. To be fair, the Crypto.com app does charge a pretty high spread (mark up), compared to other exchanges. However, the overall simplicity of depositing fiat money, transferring crypto in and out with minimal fees, and the ability to get almost any coin you want largely outweigh the spread one is paying. Specifically for Binance restricted regions, there isn’t another exchange that offers as many altcoins as Crypto.com.

For those concerned about the fees, you would be happy to know Crypto.com offers a separate Exchange app (not yet available in the US), which allows users to buy with lower spreads and set limit/stop orders. Both the Crypto.com app and the Crypto.com Exchange also offer “Earn”, which is the ability to stake and lock certain crypto assets with them to earn back a yield.

In terms of user experience, is the Crypto.com app one of the smoothest and well-designed apps out there? No, there are still lots of improvements needed, but I’d argue users care more about the functionalities and jobs to be done (ie. buying a small-cap coin), over the useability and smoothness of the app.

Crypto.com Visa Card

Besides buying and selling cryptocurrency, another main draw for users is the popular Crypto.com metal card. Essentially, this is a no-annual-fee prepaid Visa card that allows users to load fiat money or crypto and earn CRO cashback on every purchase.

For a user to obtain a higher-level card, a user must stake a certain amount of CRO tokens, such as $4,000 of CRO for Royal Indigo or $400 for Ruby Steel. The user will then receive benefits such as a % CRO cashback, free Spotify and Netflix subscriptions, and Airport Lounge access. This model of staking CRO for a metal card is an extremely clever way to create value for CRO, as people must buy and hold their tokens to access benefits, reducing the selling pressure for CRO.

Defi Wallet & Cronos

Similar to Coinbase, which offers users a separate wallet, Crypto.com also offers a separate DeFi wallet, where the keys are owned by the user and not the exchange. If you are new to DeFi, it’s important to always store your coins in a wallet as opposed to on an exchange because of safety. In the case of Crypto.com, the DeFi wallet is also a gateway for users to access Crypto.com’s very own native blockchain, Cronos.

In short, Cronos is essentially an EVM blockchain for DeFi, NFTs, and Metaverse. EVM essentially means developers can easily port their apps from Ethereum to the chain; this is important as most apps are currently built on Ethereum. Additionally, Cronos is built using the Cosmo SDK, meaning the chain has built in interoperability (the ability to communicate with other blockchains).

Given the early stage of Cronos, it’s still to be determined how successful Cronos will become as there are only a limited number of decentralized applications currently available. But with developments and grants underway over the next year, it won’t be surprising to see Cronos gain more adoption. Although it will likely not grow to the size of a Binance Smart Chain (native blockchain for Binance), strong adoption of Cronos is only going to create more demand and utility for the CRO token.

Given the marketing efforts, functionality, and developments in the Crypto.com ecosystem, it is no surprise CRO surged almost 6x from September to November this year. In my view, it’s still too early to tell whether the bets Crypto.com is making will pay off, especially when there are already a ton of competitors in the space. But considering their comprehensive product offerings and focus on trying to bring Crypto and Web 3 mainstream, it is hard not to be bullish on the possibility that they can one day build a reputable Crypto.com ecosystem.

If you are interested in checking out Crypto.com and their Visa cards, feel free to sign up using my referral link - https://crypto.com/app/uaeq8za3mg

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