In today’s Crypto.com review, we will be looking at some of the features, fees, pros, and cons of this exchange and its adjacent projects.
Crypto.com Overview
Crypto.com previously known as Monaco was founded in 2016 to bring cryptocurrency to the mainstream.
Crypto.com gained popularity with its MCO project, which was released in an ICO in 2017. The project aimed to create a crypto credit card that would lead to mass adoption. The mobile app features an array of useful features, as well as an exchange and trading function. Other functionalities of the platform include staking options that allow users to unlock benefits such as interest rewards, cashback, and rebates.
In 2019, Crypto.com expanded its list of products by adding a cryptocurrency exchange.
Supported Currencies and Available Countries
Crypto.com exchange currently supports 17 tokens, including BTC, LTC, ETH, XRP, USDT, CRO, MCO, EOS, XLM, USDC, ATOM, LINK, XTZ, BCH, VET, ICX and ADA. We are seeing that this number will continue to grow.
While there are only 44 market pairs and only with spot trade so far, some of its unique features make it stand out. The platform has two native tokens, MCO and CRO. MCO is used for staking to unlock tiered benefits and to upgrade credit cards with higher feature sets. CRO empowers the Crypto.com exchange, and they are mainly used for intermediary currency settlement across various assets. You can stake CRO to participate in their Syndicate Events, which we will cover in the next section.
The exchange can be accessed by residents from UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Romania, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg, and Iceland.
The MCO cards are now available in the US, Canada, Europe and Asian markets, which makes it one of the most widely available crypto cards in the world.
System Compatibilities
The Crypto.com exchange is accessible from both desktop and mobile, and you will find they actually have a nice mobile responsive site. Their Crypto.com mobile app allows users to deposit and withdraw funds from the exchange. The app also has features like crypto earn, crypto credit, coins tracking functions and more. (This will be covered later in our Crypto.com review).
User Interface and Experience
The interface of the exchange and the mobile app have a sleek and pleasant design, and the charts and data are layered to be easily understood. The charts include dozens of indicators, and you can select to show a coin’s performance based on various time frames.
How to Register a Crypto.com Exchange Account as a New User
In our Crypto.com review, we will be showing you how to register for an account on the exchange:
- Go to crypto.com/exchange and click the “Sign-Up” button (upper right-hand corner);
- Provide the required personal details and follow the on-screen instructions;
- Click on the “Create Account” button;
- You will receive a confirmation link in your registered email containing a one-time password (OTP);
- Confirm your registration;
- Type the OTP on the site;
- Create your password for your exchange account;
- Click “Submit;”
- Verify your phone number. Choose the area code of your country from the dropdown, then enter your phone number;
- You will receive an SMS verification code;
- Enter the code into the field;
- Click “Submit;”
- You will have to verify your identity in order to unlock other features.
2% Bonus on Crypto Deposits for New Users
New users* who meet both conditions are eligible for the 2% deposit bonus.
1. Registered for a Crypto.com Exchange account after May 11, 2020 00:00:00 UTC;
2. Completed account verification for Advanced level.
Existing Crypto.com App users who registered for a Crypto.com Exchange account after May 11, 2020 00:00:00 UTC are considered a new user. All direct on-chain deposits* made to your Crypto.com Exchange Wallet address within 30 days from the new account creation date will receive 2% bonus of the deposit value in CRO,up to a maximum of 5,000 CRO.
Other Product Features
Here are some additional benefits Crypto.com offer to their exchange users.
Syndicate
Have you ever imagined that you could buy Bitcoin at 50% Off? The Crypto.com Syndicate is here to make this possible. The Syndicate is Crypto.com’s fundraising platform for crypto projects to list their coins or tokens on the Crypto.com Exchange. Crypto.com Coin (CRO) holders will receive priority token allocation for these discount sales events if they stake at least 10,000 on Crypto.com Exchange. There will be a BTC 50% OFF Sale at the end of this month.
You can find out more about their other successful events via their Syndicate event page: https://crypto.com/exchange/syndicate.
CRO Staking
CRO Staking allows users to earn 20% per annum (paid daily) if they stake a minimum of 10,000 CRO for at least 6 months. The daily interest is calculated as:
Daily Interest = Principal amount (in staked cryptocurrency) x (APR/365)
For example, if you staked 10,000 CRO for 180 days you would receive 5.47945205 CRO every day as interest. For more information about the CRO staking benefits, please visit Crypto.com.
Soft Staking
Soft Staking enables users to earn rewards by holding a crypto balance in their exchange wallet, including all supported tokens on the platform. The interest rates depend on your CRO staking level. You may find more information in the crypto.com article.
Crypto.com App
The Crypto.com App offers more extended features than the exchange. From the app, you can buy, sell, store, and track cryptos. An added benefit is that from the app, you can deposit 7 fiat currencies (including USD, JPY, and EUR) with which you can buy or sell 53 different crypto assets. You can track over 200 cryptocurrencies and monitor various metrics. You can enjoy their buy crypto with a 0% credit card fee promotion till the end of June. Download it from iOS and Android now so you don’t miss this benefit.
MCO Visa Card owners can spend their card balances from the Crypto.com App.
Apart from the Crypto.com App, Crypto.com Wallet is another app you can download from Crypto.com, it is the non-custodial wallet app that can allow you to have full control of your crypto and private key if you want to store your crypto in the most secure way, you can download it from iOS and Android.
MCO Visa Cards
MCO Visa Cards were the main product that propelled the Crypto.com company to mass popularity, allowing users to spend cryptocurrencies wherever VISA is accepted.
There are five different tiers of MCO Visa Cards, ranging from the free Midnight Blue MCO card to the luxurious Obsidian Black card.
Midnight Blue Card – available for free with no staking requirements, which comes with an unlimited 1% rebate.
Ruby Steel Card – stake 50 MCO for 6 months (about $250 at current prices), a metal card with 2% back on all purchases, and a 100% rebate on a Spotify Premium subscription.
Royal Indigo or Jade Green tiers – stake 500 MCO for 6 months, you have unlimited airport lounge access, a 100% rebate on your Netflix and Spotify subscription, and 3% back on all purchases.
Icy White and Frosted Rose Gold cards – stake 5,000 MCO and you get 4% back on all purchases, and a 100% rebate on Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. You also benefit from Crypto.com private access, a 10% Expedia rebate, and bonus interest.
Obsidian Black – stake 50,000 MCO, you get 5% back on all purchases, a 100% rebate on Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, Crypto.com private access, 10% Airbnb, and Expedia rebate, bonus interest, and private Jet partnership.
Crypto Earn
Users can deposit and stake their cryptocurrency via the Crypto.com platform and get up to 8% p.a. interest in return. Stablecoin deposits receive higher interest than regular coins, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin.
CRO deposits have the highest rate: up to 18% per annum if the user has an MCO stake of 500 more. MCO tokens have the highest stake rate.
Crypto.com Pay
Crypto.com Pay enables users to pay with crypto and get cashback in CRO when they make purchases. The cashback is called Pay Rewards.
If you send CRO inside the Crypto.com App or buy gift cards using CRO, you can receive certain rewards.
Also, there is a Merchant Account that allows Pay SDK integration with 1 line of code or via WooCommerce Payment Gateway to enable their business to accept online crypto transactions.
Crypto.com Fees
The Crypto.com exchange has a tier fee structure that is quite competitive on the market, with the lowest at 0% trading fee if you have a large stake in their native token CRO. The maker/taker fees start at 0.2% of the trade value, and the fees will get lowered if you stake more CRO tokens and increase your trading volume. CRO will also produce a 20% ROI on the amount that you’ve staked as mentioned above. Details on their fee structure can be found on this page.
| TIER | 30D TRADING VOLUME (USD) | MAKER/TAKER FEE | DISCOUNTED FEES 20% OFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIP1 | $0 – $50000 | 0.20% / 0.20% | 0.160% / 0.160% |
| VIP2 | $50001 – $250000 | 0.16% / 0.18% | 0.128% / 0.144% |
| VIP3 | $250001 – $1000000 | 0.12% / 0.16% | 0.096% / 0.128% |
| VIP4 | $1000001 – $2500000 | 0.10% / 0.14% | 0.080% / 0.112% |
| VIP5 | $2500001 – $10000000 | 0.08% / 0.12% | 0.064% / 0.096% |
| VIP6 | $10000001 and above | 0.04% / 0.10% | 0.032% / 0.080% |
Sending crypto between Crypto.com owners does not come with any fees.
Payment Methods
The exchange only supports cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals from Crypto.com App or external wallet. While the Crypto.com App allows users to buy crypto via fiat, debit or credit card, or crypto.
Security Features
Our Crypto.com review would not be complete without inspecting its security features. The platform has a number of security certifications, including Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, and PCI:DSS. They also obtained the ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification in June 2020 as an extension of ISO/IEC 27001:2013.
The exchange claims that all their funds are kept in cold wallets.
Crypto.com has secured a US $100M direct insurance policy led by Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s Syndicate 2012. The new policy brings Crypto.com’s total cryptocurrency insurance to $360M, including direct and indirect coverage via custodians. This is also the largest coverage that Crypto.com has secured for its cold storage assets on custodial partner Ledger Vault.
Their mobile application and exchange feature 2FA through biometrics or the Google Authenticator app. But even if a breach occurred, the hacker wouldn’t be able to send the funds, as the address has to be whitelisted by you.
Customer Support
The platform features 24/7 live chat support for all its customers, regardless if they are using the app, exchange, or card. There have been some complaints regarding response times, but they have time to scale their team to meet the demands of their growing user base.
Crypto.com Reputation
The MCO card has received positive reviews from the community, and the app and exchange have not gotten any complaints yet. There have not been any hacks or security leaks, but the exchange is still rather new.
Crypto.com Review: Verdict
Crypto.com is a versatile project that offers a wide variety of products, ranging from crypto Visa cards with perks to mobile fiat exchange services.
To see if Crypto.com is the right choice for your trading needs, you can also check out our Crypto.com vs Coinbase analysis.
Featured image: coincodex.com
