Crypto.com Restarts Staking Rewards Following Brutal Community Backlash

Crypto.com has had to restart its staking rewards program after the community reacted harshly to the company announcing it would discontinue it.

Native Token Crashes 11% Amid Backlash

Revisions to Crypto.com’s staking rewards sent its native token CRO tumbling 11 percent as the community expressed its dismay. The exchange announced it would be reducing rewards on the usage of its Visa-enabled cards based on the tiers offered.

In a blog post, Crypto.com said lower tiers such as Midnight Blue and Ruby Steel would get 0 percent, while Royal Indigo and Jade Green would receive 0.5 percent and Icy White and Frosted Rose Gold 1 percent, while Obsidian, the highest tier, would get a mere 2 percent.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said the firm would continue to offer staking rewards to its card users just a day after eliminating the program. The decision has since been rescinded, with Marszalek subsequently tweeting:

Rewards are still less than those offered at the moment, to which the community reacted badly. Marszalek, however, said the changes were necessary to ensure “long-term sustainability” of yields offered on its card program:

Crypto.com had already slashed rates of returns offered on its token deposits this year. Cuts announced on March 26 reduced flexible returns offered by the firm on popular tokens such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to 0.5 percent from between 1.5 and 2 percent.

Crypto.com Gets Active in Sports Arena

Crypto.com is gaining increasing traction in the sports arena. Last year, the firm signed a US$35 million multi-year deal with renowned European football club Paris Saint-Germain. In January, it also clinched a five-year partnership worth A$25 million with the Australian Football League.