First Mover: Crypto.com's Chain Token Dominated Markets in June With 33% Gain

Credit-card lender and wallet provider Crypto.com's Chain (CRO) token surged 33% in June, dominating digital-asset markets as bitcoin, ether and XRP from Ripple all declined.

The CRO token's gains made it the top performer during the month among digital assets with a market value of at least $1 billion, according to the data provider Messari.

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The second-best performer, Unus Sed Leo (LEO), rose 6.4% in June, followed by Chainlink (LINK) with a 4.6% price increase. The worst performer was bitcoin SV (BSV), which tumbled 21%.

Crypto.com has raised its profile partly through a "tremendous wave of marketing over the past several months," John Todaro, head of currency research at the digital-asset firm TradeBlock, told First Mover in an email.

Bitcoin (BTC), the oldest cryptocurrency and the largest by market value, fell 10% during the month, shaving its year-to-date return to 27%, as price volatility narrowed amid ongoing uncertainty about the future of the coronavirus and related stimulus packages.

Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, slid 9.3%, while XRP from Ripple lost 17%.

For the second quarter of 2020, bitcoin rose 42%, more than double the 18% gain during the period for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was the stock index's best performance in more than three decades.

Hong Kong-based Crypto.com raised $26.7 million in 2017 through a sale of its MCO tokens, which are paid out as rewards to credit-card customers.

The CRO tokens, airdropped to MCO holders starting in December 2018https://help.crypto.com/en/articles/2543259-cro-airdrop-initial-distribution and now traded on more than 20 exchanges, can be used for "cross-asset intermediary currency settlement for the native Crypto.com Chain," according to the company's website.

Of course, smaller digital assets like CRO can be volatile. The token has a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, compared with bitcoin's $169 billion and ethereum's $25 billion, according to Messari.

Crypto.com press officials didn't comment for this story.

Headed by CEO Kris Marszalek, the company launched a beta version of its own cryptocurrency exchange in November, following the shipping of the MCO Visa cards earlier in 2019. Crypto.com announced in May 2020 that it had started shipping credit cards in Europe.

The company also has a payments app and cryptocurrency wallet (launched last month), and customers can earn interest-like rewards by staking bitcoin and other digital assets on its platform.

"The company has aggressively pursued various lines of business which have attracted users, which then bleeds into its token," Todaro wrote.

Last month, Crypto.com sponsored a portion of CoinDesk's Consensus 2020 virtual conference. And on Tuesday, the company's website was advertising a "BTC Anniversary Special," featuring bitcoin "at 50% off, with $2 million allocation!" (The promotion was due to end early Wednesday.)

Earlier in June, the company announced it had obtained its own emoji on Twitter, which appears automatically when the #CRO hashtag is inserted into a tweet. The publication CoinTelegraph noted at the time that such branded hashtag services have reportedly cost upwards of $1 million.

"The official Twitter handle does frequent giveaways, which draws in more followers and retail traders of its token," Todaro said.

Tweet of the day

Bitcoin watch

BTC: Price: $9,157 (BPI) | 24-Hr High: $9,196 | 24-Hr Low: $9,064

Trend: Bitcoin is moving in a tight price range, a sign a breakout – bullish or bearish – could be fast approaching.

• Since early May, bitcoin has traded strictly between $9,000 to $10,000. Attempts to move out of this price range have all but failed.
• After dipping to $9,000 last week, bitcoin has held at the $9,100 mark. Bitcoin’s price, unusually, has barely tracked $100 since Monday.
• Bitcoin’s volatility has fallen precipitously. Its ATR value – a price volatility metric – has dropped 50 points to 315 – the lowest since January.
• The market has seen this before. In December and early January, bitcoin was squeezed ever more tightly. It then jumped out of its $100 price range and ultimately peaked at over $10,000 by mid-February.
• While the market should expect an imminent breakout once more, there are few signs whether it will move above or below the current range.