Deep Dive
1. Smart Accounts & EVM Upgrades (30 October 2025)
Overview: Cronos launched its "Smarturn" mainnet upgrade, introducing EIP-7702 for smart accounts and Ethereum Cancun/Prague fork features.
The upgrade allows externally owned wallets (EOAs) to temporarily function as smart contracts, enabling gasless transactions, batch approvals, and programmable logic for dApps. Developers gained access to new EVM opcodes (TSTORE, TLOAD) and compatibility with Solidity’s latest versions.
What this means: This is bullish for Cronos because it simplifies DeFi interactions (e.g., one-click yield farming) and attracts Ethereum-native developers. Users benefit from faster, cheaper transactions.
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2. POS v6 Network Upgrade (28 July 2025)
Overview: Cronos POS chain upgraded to Cosmos SDK v0.50.10 and IBC-go v8.5.1, improving cross-chain interoperability and node security.
Key additions included a circuit breaker (emergency network pause) and RocksDB optimizations for 20% faster node synchronization. The upgrade required ~90 minutes of downtime.
What this means: This is neutral for Cronos, as it strengthens long-term infrastructure but caused temporary service disruptions. Validators gained tools to mitigate risks during extreme network stress.
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3. v1.3 Stability Improvements (18 July 2024)
Overview: The v1.3 upgrade focused on node stability, fixing RPC crashes and improving RocksDB database reliability.
Changes included flushing database write-ahead logs (WAL) during shutdowns to prevent corruption and patching invalid input vulnerabilities in the RPC module.
What this means: This is bullish for Cronos because it reduced node outage risks, ensuring smoother upgrades and consistent network uptime for dApps.
(Source)
Conclusion
Cronos is prioritizing scalability (sub-second blocks), Ethereum compatibility, and institutional-grade reliability through its 2024–2025 upgrades. While short-term price action remains muted, these technical strides position CRO for broader DeFi and RWA adoption. How might AI-powered agentic transactions, hinted at in recent hackathons, further differentiate Cronos in 2026?