- They are as "legit" as you can get in cryptocurrency companies. But remember, even "legit" companies with good intentions sometimes fail. In other words, as far as I can see right now, I have no reason to believe they are scamming us. I have put a bit of my bitcoin in, and use their VISA card, and it is very nice, with good rewards.
- But remember, people thought Bernie Madoff was "legit" until he "made off" with their money. It was all a pyramid scheme.
- It is easy to let greed fool us. Have some healthy skepticism.
- If you feel comfortable investing in, or using, any cryptocurrency company or exchange, you should feel comfortable using crypto.com.
- But don't throw your life savings into it.
A bit of history, as I know it from being a small-time investor in their ICO.
- They came out with their big plan and launch in 2017, and you could invest in their MCO token, to get a place in line to get their VISA card. That was the biggest draw for me. I think their original plans changed several times to meet market needs and regulatory restrictions.
- You could "stake" different levels of MCO to get different benefits. Staking means you commit or lock them for 6 months.
- Sometime in 2018, I believe, they acquired the crypto.com domain and rebranded themselves for higher visibility.
- In 2019, I think, they finally started shipping cards. I received mine sometime after that.
- They also had launched CRO, which is its own chain (not an Ethereum-based token). It became linked tightly to their crypto exchange.
- Currently, they are trying to retire the MCO token and shift everyone over to CRO. It's actually a better deal, as the staking levels at current prices are lower in $ terms, more within reach. CRO also pays higher interest rates.
I also wondered how they can keep paying such high rates for their own CRO currency (up to 18%). I haven't found a clear answer. Their white papers describe the allocations of the tokens, and there are a bunch reserved for initial launch and promotion of the project, so I imagine that is where most of this interest payment is coming from. Another hunch I have is that when you "stake" the currency, they actually turn around and "stake" it in the CRO blockchain (in the "proof-of-stake" sense). Stakers are rewarded in coins for validating transactions, so that may also be part of the 18% that they are returning.
However, here are my big misgivings. Though the price of CRO has risen steadily, that is in large part due to growing demand for it in the market. The demand seems to be growing faster than they are paying out in interest. That's because they keep signing up customers. All's well that ends well, right? Well, two things concern me. If the customer growth slows, the price of CRO can start to decline; that can trigger a massive selloff, crashing the price. Crypto.com has little control over this! Second, and this is probably the more hopeful end scenario: as their customer growth slows, they intelligently start reducing the interest payments so that the number of coins doesn't flood the market and tank the price. However, it's quite probable they won't be able to stay ahead of that game. After all, the high interest is one of the reasons the customers continue to flood in; as the interest rates lower, the customer growth will slow even more. That's why this has at least some risk of ending up badly.
Again: I use the service and really like it, and like the high interest rates and the high rebates especially. But I haven't put my life savings into it! HODL the majority of your coins yourself. Always.