What Is Crypto.com and How To Use It?
Blockchain

What Is Crypto.com and How To Use It?

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Created 2yr ago, last updated 2yr ago

CoinMarketCap Academy looks into Crypto.com, one of the biggest cryptocurrency platforms in the world.

What Is Crypto.com and How To Use It?

Table of Contents

Crypto.com is one of the biggest ecosystems in the cryptocurrency space. Here are a few key facts about Crypto.com:

  • It is the world's fastest-growing crypto platform with over 50 million users and 250+ cryptocurrencies.
  • It is home to its own blockchain called Cronos (CRO).
  • It provides vital crypto-related services like a crypto debit card, a crypto centralized exchange, crypto staking services and more.
  • It has several massive partnerships in the sports and entertainment sector, such as with several F1 and NBA teams and with Matt Damon as its brand ambassador.

Crypto.com is growing bigger by the day. If you are looking for a platform to get involved in crypto, chances are that you will come across Crypto.com. CoinMarketCap Academy runs you through what Crypto.com is and how to use Crypto.com.

Join us in showcasing the cryptocurrency revolution, one newsletter at a time. Subscribe now to get daily news and market updates right to your inbox, along with our millions of other subscribers (that’s right, millions love us!) — what are you waiting for?

What Is Crypto.com?

Crypto.com provides an all-in-one solution for cryptocurrencies, with several services covering all its customers' needs. It consists of several products:

  • Pay
  • Earn
  • App
  • DeFi Wallet
  • Crypto Exchange
  • Syndicate
  • VISA card

Crypto.com Pay

Crypto.com Pay allows you to shop at online retailers that offer payment in cryptocurrency. This is an interesting proposal for the merchants because they pay 0% fees on transactions processed in crypto and 0.5% on transactions processed in fiat currency. That is significantly less than with traditional payment providers. For customers, payments in crypto are free as well, but, unfortunately, only few online retailers have a cryptocurrency integration, making this service an interesting idea that has not reached its full potential yet. Luckily, at least WooCommerce stores have started accepting cryptocurrency payments.

There is also an option to buy gift cards or top up your phone balance and receive cashback. Though you might not want to spend your cryptocurrency on phone calls if you think it is going to appreciate in the future.

Crypto.com Credit

Crypto.com Credit offers the option to take out a collateralized loan of up to 50% of the collateral's value. Taking out a loan in crypto doesn't require KYC and background checks as a bank loan would, which makes them attractive for investors that want to leverage their crypto assets (and possibly buy more crypto with the borrowed funds). On the other hand, taking out a loan in cryptocurrency does open you up to possible currency risk, i.e., your loan could be worth a lot more if Bitcoin suddenly appreciates, making it potentially risky.
Unfortunately, this option is not available to users in the US, UK, France, or Germany. If eligible, you can also stake the native CRO token and lower your fees that way.

Crypto.com Earn

Crypto.com Earn works like a savings account. You can deposit your crypto assets and receive a fixed interest rate on them. The interest rate is usually between 8 and 14%, so it's much higher than at a regular savings account. Upon depositing, you decide for how long you want to deposit your funds in the savings account — for instance, a week or several months. Of course, the longer your deposit stays in the savings account, the more yield you can potentially earn.

Crypto.com App

The Crypto.com App allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies when you are not at your desktop. You can also track your investments and current prices with it. On Trustpilot, users praise the app as sleek and easy to use.

Crypto.com DeFi wallet

Unlike the savings account, the Crypto.com DeFi wallet is a non-custodial solution to store your coins, meaning you retain control of your assets at all times. You can manage over 100 coins in the wallet and have the option to stake CRO and receive better APRs (annual percentage rate). This product is aimed at more advanced cryptocurrency users that already know their way around the crypto world and prefer to retain complete control of their tokens.

Crypto.com Exchange

The Crypto.com exchange offers more than 100 different currencies to trade. Based on your trading volume in the last 30 days and how many CRO you staked, you can get a discount on the trading fees. There are two different verification levels for users: basic and advanced. You only need to provide your name, email and phone number on the basic level, but moving capital on the exchange will be restricted. With advanced verification, you pass the full KYC process and can withdraw up to 100 BTC.

Crypto.com Syndicate

The Crypto.com Syndicate is a fundraising platform where promising projects can list their coins on the exchange. If you stake CRO, you get to call dibs on those coins. Although this sounds really intriguing, the staking requirements are really high, and the rewards are not as good as promised. You need to stake 10,000 CRO to be able to participate in the syndicate. The maximum token allocation for 10,000 CRO is 1,000 tokens, but the actual allocation is calculated based on a formula. In practice, it could happen that you only receive a few dollars worth of the new token, which makes the entire service somewhat underwhelming.

Crypto.com VISA Cards

The Crypto.com VISA cards are the main product and selling point of the platform. They are available in different jurisdictions, such as the US (except the state of New York), Canada, the UK, certain countries in the EU, Singapore and APAC.
Crypto.com offers different plans for its cards. The most basic option is its Midnight Blue card, which is free and offers 1% cashback in CRO on all transactions. It also comes with $200 worth of free withdrawals at the ATM per month and $2,000 free foreign exchange transactions per month.
The Ruby Steel card offers 2% cashback and $400 free ATM withdrawals, plus a 100% Spotify discount. To get this card, you need to stake $400 worth of CRO tokens on Crypto.com. Unlike at regular banks, this is not a sunk cost. If you want to cancel the card, you unstake the money and receive it back.
Crypto.com also offers premium cards. Its Royal Indigo and Jade Green cards require $4,000 of staked CRO and come with 3% cashback and other perks like Spotify and Netflix discounts, as well as Airport lounge access. The most expensive cards are the Icy White/Frosted Rose Gold and the Obsidian, which require $40,000 and $400,000 of staked coins, respectively. They offer cashbacks of 5% and 8% and more perks; however, most customers will shy away from the hefty staking requirements.
You can also read our guide to crypto debit cards to learn more about them.

Where Is Crypto.com Based?

Crypto.com is based in Hong Kong but is regulated in 49 US states (except the state of New York). It became the first cryptocurrency platform to receive MFSA Class 3 license, meaning it can provide custodial services and execute orders on behalf of other persons. Crypto.com prides itself on cooperating with regulatory authorities and was one of the first companies to offer VISA cards that are integrated with cryptocurrencies.
Currently, Crypto.com is available in most countries, including the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Russia, Latin American countries, and some Asian and African states. However, its VISA card is available in Singapore, the United States, Canada, countries in the Asia Pacific and the European Union. Not all the coins are available in all US states; for example, 40 coins are not available in the US at all, and a further 35 are not available in every state. Crypto.com is constantly working on expanding its services and getting regulatory approval to be present and issue VISA cards to more countries.

How Safe Is Crypto.com?

Crypto.com is a safe platform that adheres to several security principles to ensure user funds are secure. It is the first cryptocurrency company in the world to have ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27701:2019, PCI:DSS 3.2.1, Level 1 compliance and CCSS. Moreover, user funds are always stored in cold storage, meaning they cannot be hacked. In addition, the platform uses a cold wallet insurance fund in the event of a loss of funds. It has a $100 million direct insurance policy led by Arch Underwriting at Lloyd's Syndicate 2012. Total insured funds amount to $360 million. Only company funds are stored in hot wallets to ensure the site is running smoothly. On top of that, US citizens benefit from a $250,000 insurance of their funds by the FDIC.
Crypto.com also uses 2FA authentication and employs Amazon Web Services infrastructure security, such as firewalls and automatic encryption of all traffic. However, Crypto.com suffered a hack costing $34M in early January this year, due to a 2FA compromise. The company has since announced its Worldwide Account Protection Program (WAPP) where eligible users can claim up to $250,000 of unauthorized withdrawals, and plan to introduce “multi-factor authentication” in place of 2FA.

How To Stake on Crypto.com?

You can stake on Crypto.com with its Earn program. Here is what you need to do:

  1. Download the Crypto.com app.
  2. Deposit cryptocurrency in your Crypto.com account.
  3. Choose the crypto you want to stake.
  4. Set your staking period from a week to several months.
  5. Stake your cryptocurrency and earn passive income with staking.

How To Withdraw Money From Crypto.com?

Withdrawing money from Crypto.com is simple and takes only a few steps:

  1. Open your Crypto.com app.
  2. Link the bank account you wish to withdraw money to.
  3. Click on "Transfer."
  4. Select "Withdraw" in the pop-up.
  5. Select "Fiat" in the following pop-up to withdraw in fiat.
  6. Select "Withdraw Fiat to your bank account."
  7. Choose your desired currency and enter the withdrawal amount:
  8. Click "Withdraw" and wait for your money to arrive.

To withdraw on Crypto.com, your account needs to be at least a starter level or higher.

How To Transfer Money From Crypto.com to a Bank Account?

You follow the same process as when you want to withdraw money from Crypto.com:

  1. Open your Crypto.com app.
  2. Link the bank account you wish to withdraw money to.
  3. Click on "Transfer."
  4. Select "Withdraw" in the pop-up.
  5. Select "Fiat" in the following pop-up to withdraw in fiat.
  6. Select "Withdraw Fiat to your bank account."
  7. Choose your desired currency and enter the withdrawal amount:
  8. Click "Withdraw" and wait for your money to arrive.
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