Quick guide: Crypto.com Mobile App

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Crypto.com has two distinct platforms - the mobile app and the exchange, both of which offer cryptocurrencies trading for users. The mobile app, however, has packed in much more and seems a little confusing to navigate for starters. Its utility token is CRO (previously MCO).

Why is CRO token price spiking lately?

A bit of missed opportunity gripe - I regretted not buying the amount of CRO needed for Ruby card when I first signed up. That's when CRO was at only USD $0.15 (its price as of writing is $0.70). I only started staking recently after the price run-up pushed my CRO value to reach it.

I think the huge price run-up was due to the following reasons.

Reason 1 - Cronos network launch

Crypto.org just introduces the Cronos mainnet beta, the Cosmos SDK based EVM compatible chain, on 8 Nov 2021.

Cronos is the EVM compatible chain running in parallel to the Crypto.org Chain. It aims to massively scale the Chain DeFi ecosystem, by providing developers with the ability to rapidly port apps from Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains, with funding from Particle B’s $100m EVM fund and access to the 10M+ user base of the Crypto.com ecosystem. [Source: https://cronos.crypto.org/docs/chain-details/introduction.html]

Again, emphasizing on scalability and interoperability which are lacking in the older blockchain networks. Thus, it provided another avenue of use for the CRO token. Users can onboard their token from the Crypto.com app, Crypto.com exchange or Crypto.org chain.

Reason 2 - Marketing

Tapping on celebrities and sponsoring popular campaigns are some common marketing tactics, and Crypto.com is upping its game with that.

Crypto.com has recently got Matt Damon to star their ads in attempt to attract new users. They are also marketing themselves via F1 and some popular soccer league / clubs.

If you happened to be at Harbourfront MRT station, you will definitely not miss its mega wall ad on your way down the escalator to the platforms. Heard there's one in Orchard too.

Crypto.com has also signed up to be the global marketing partner of Twitch Rivals.

Reason 3 - Maximum token supply capped

CRO has a maximum supply of 30 billion, of which the current circulating supply is about 25 billion tokens. As the token demand goes up and supply capped, it makes economical sense for the price of it to go up.


Congrats to those who dug alphas before the run up!


Features exploration

Clicking the lion face logo right in the bottom middle of the Home screen will bring up the full list of in-app features.

1) Trade: Spot crypto purchase to your Crypto Wallet

You can purchase a long variety of cryptocurrencies (much longer than Gemini's, just short of Binance.com) at their spot prices.

Just something to note - the prices tend to be higher than what I see on some other exchanges or Coinmarketcap. If you want to buy at "better rate" then you might be better off using the exchanges for limit orders instead of mobile app. I don't see any fees break down for purchases so I assumed it has been "priced in". You can buy with fiat (via StraitsX, credit card) or major cryptocurrecies (like swap). Sometimes I would transfer GUSD over and swap to USDC to make purchases.

You can also check out my post on-ramping and off-ramping popular CEX platforms for more.

2) Trade: Recurring buy

You can set up recurring buy transactions on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis and finance via the same payment modes as per normal transactions. Do note that credit card purchase would incur a 3.5% fee.

3) Spend: VISA card

This is possibly one of the most attractive and indispensable feature. [https://crypto.com/sg/cards]

Why is it indispensable? 
Because in order to unlock your referral reward, you have to stake $500 worth of CRO and get the ruby steel card (second minimum tier). It takes about a week to receive it by mail. 

Since there is no annual fee and it's literally heavy enough to pull quite a few punches as below, I don't see a reason for not getting it.

Made of full metal and my favourite hue


The card functions like a pre-paid rather than credit card. You will first top it up with either direct fiat funding or cryptocurrencies (swapped to fiat) then use it like any other credit card with local retailers (Paywave acceptable). You can get a rebate, ranging from 1-8%, paid in CRO with each eligible spending. The rate of rebate depends on your card tier. To see your CRO rebate, simply go into your wallet and click on CRO. Scroll down to view transaction history and you will see the rebate awarded to you.

I used USDC to top up my card and it was instant. You can see your card balance (fiat SGD only allowed for Singapore users) right after by clicking on the right-most Card icon from the Home screen. There is no topping up from fiat wallet here.

You can also get 100% reimbursement for Spotify and Netflix subscriptions, depending on your card tier. 

Why "reimbursement"? 
Because it is not a direct "pay with your card and get cash back", you will have to submit your bills to them and then get "reimbursed" later in CRO. I wonder how the team can efficiently handle this admin task as its users base grows. I am a not a subscriber so I am not the best person to talk about the claim process and lag time.

4) Finance: Supercharger

This is a very useful time-based earning function, especially for those with insufficient CRO to put into Earn. There is no minimum CRO needed a set minimum of 100 CRO per deposit to participate for the Supercharger event.

Users can deposit their CRO (usually for a month to two) to "charge" and earn other tokens. 

There is only one ongoing event per time period, meaning that you can only earn that one particular token at the end of the deposit (charging) period. The reward is calculated based on the amount of CRO you deposited and the duration of which you deposited it. One positive note is that the CRO can be withdrawn at any time.

Remember to "activate" your reward collection at the end of the charging period or risk forfeiting it. From activation, the reward is being paid out on a daily basis to your crypto wallet until the total reward due is paid out. I am not sure what is the rationale behind this slow payout. 

Do also note that if you do not voluntarily withdraw your CRO, they will remain in the Supercharger and be used to charge for subsequent events automatically.

5) Finance: Earn


You can deposit your cryptocurrencies here to earn interest. There are different durations that you can "lock" them up for and with that come different interest rates. The interest rates would also differ based on your card tier. 

What I dislike is that there are minimum sum requirements for the deposits.

6) Rewards: Mission


This is a new in-app feature. 

You can earn Diamonds (sounds like Coinmarketcap?) by logging in to your Diamond vault daily, buying $20 worth of cryptocurrency in a single transaction and/or buying $500 worth of cryptocurrency in a day.

Upon collecting 25 Diamonds, you will get to open up a Mystery Box. (I have opened a Bronze box which gave 0.2 CRO, pftt.)


7) Rewards: Referral Bonus


You will get $25 worth of CRO locked as reward at the point of signup with a referral code. The referrer will also get $25 worth of CRO. This referral bonus will be credited to you once you have successfully staked CRO for the credit card (as mentioned above). 

A worthy point is, there is no time limit as to when you want to do the staking. So long as the referral went through, you would have "locked in" the amount of sign up bonus CRO. I have gotten 167 CRO during the time when I signed up.

If you are interested, please use my referral code <b3ne7pabmv> to sign up. I will really appreciate it.

Staked CRO for the card will be locked for 180 days.

8) The hidden "bridging" function- withdrawal to other chains


You can also use Crypto.com mobile app as a cheap alternative to "bridge" your assets for engaging in Defi activities on various non-Ethereum blockchains like Cronos, Polygon, Cosmos and Arbitrum. 

One common asset for bridging is USDC. Example - bridging / withdrawal to Polygon only costs $0.08 and bridging to Arbitrum costs $4. You can go to your Wallet, click on the crypto asset, select Withdraw and To external wallet. From there you can choose which network you want to send to. Be sure to input the correct receiving address. Likewise, you can also receive USDC from those networks.

Withdrawing money from the app


The FI Pharmacist has done a detailed write up here so I won't repeat the points.

I prefer to sell my crypto into USDC instead of XSGD, and use the proceeds to top up my Crypto.com Visa card, given the current favorable exchange rate. This would also save me the spreads as well as the 0.4% fee. (There's a 0.4% fee when we sell any crypto to SGD.) It also saves the hassle of fiat transfer and conversion which incur bank charges.

[Updated 19/8/22] Crypro.com also supports fiat transfer and withdrawal via FAST, so users can deposit and withdraw up to SGD 200,000 per transaction. https://crypto.com/product-news/sgd-fiat-wallet-fast


As we can see, Crypto.com is a one-of-its-kind crypto app boosting some kick-ass features that extends beyond your usual deposit-and-earn platforms.

Do note that Crypto.com mobile app is a separate entity from Crypto.com Exchange. Chain Debrief has done a short and sweet write up on the Crypto.com exchange which you can check out here. The FI Pharmacist also has a detailed post on the difference between the App and the Exchange. There is no fee incurred for transfer of assets from Crypto.com wallet to the exchange, and vice versa. 

You can also receive referral bonuses twice by signing up with each of them, which means you can enter same referral code <b3ne7pabmv> for both platforms.

As of writing, my most-used crypto exchange is still Gemini.com due to its low commission fees.

Like what you read? Follow me on Facebook or Twitter for updates and news that I dig.

Check out my referrals for fantastic sign up bonuses on SAXO, Moomoo, Gemini, Celsius, Blockfi and more.

🤗
Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Contents of this blog are personal opinions and NOT financial advice to buy or sell any mentioned securities, commodities or assets. This post contains affiliate links.

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The contents of this blog are author's personal opinions and do not constitute advice to hold, buy or sell any securities, commodities or assets mentioned. I do not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of any information provided, and shall not be liable for any losses incurred from reading my posts or using the materials herein. This blog may contain affiliate links to external sites.