Cryptocurrency is volatile, full of both exhilarating highs and humbling lows. For those of us who have been around since the last bull market, we have experience to teach us. Take Cronos (CRO), the native token of the Cronos blockchain. Once reaching an all-time high of nearly $0.89 in November 2021, it has since severely underperformed, currently hovering around the $0.10 mark – close to its launch price.
This underperformance has led to understandable disappointment, especially concerning a controversial re-issuance of 70 billion CRO tokens that had previously been burned. These tokens, accounting for a significant portion of the total supply (now slightly less than 100 billion), are being slowly released into circulation until 2030. The stated reasoning behind this move is to seed exchange-traded assets without needing to acquire them from the spot market. This is similar to the reasoning for the high numbers of XRP and XLM tokens, which are designed to absorb massive amounts of capital. Cronos is behind in market capitalization, but it has high hopes!
Despite this point of contention, there's a compelling narrative emerging for CRO, one focused on institutional adoption. Crypto.com has announced that CRO will be included in ETFs by Trump Media & Technology Group, and 21 Shares has also announced an ETP with CRO. Most recently, Canary Capital announced a fund that will contain CRO, aimed at accredited investors. Suffice it to say, it appears that Crypto.com is forming strategic partnerships with traditional capital markets to find long term holders for Cronos.
From my perspective – and this is not financial advice – this entry into institutional holdings is a significant development. My belief is that by increasing its presence in institutional portfolios, CRO will boost its market capitalization. A higher market capitalization typically leads to reduced price volatility, a desirable trait for any asset. While this institutional embrace may not directly increase trade volume for retail investors in the short term, it's possible that a more stable, higher market capitalization could eventually encourage more retail buyers to buy and hold the token, thereby creating the conditions for higher lows over time.
It's also worth noting that CRO does have a mechanism in place to burn tokens based on network activity. While this periodically burns millions of tokens, it's not a substantial enough portion of the total supply to significantly impact the circulating amount on its own. The real game-changer for CRO's long-term stability and growth appears to be its integration into more traditional financial products.
As we look towards the potential 2025 bull market, the question on many minds is whether CRO can reach or even surpass the $1 mark before the inevitable market correction. And what happens after? Will CRO pull back to its previous bear market low of $0.07, or will it establish a higher low, signaling a healthier long-term trend?
Personally, I am accumulating CRO when its price is below $0.20 per token. While there might be some short-term gains above that price, my strategy for CRO is a long-term hold. For me, $0.20 represents the upper limit of where I see long-term value, at least until the market lows consistently move above that level. It's a calculated gamble, forming a portion of my diversified crypto holdings, alongside what I consider "sure bets" like Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC). The institutional interest, despite the past controversies, presents an interesting new chapter for Cronos and its native token.
