Crypto.com Review: Do Its Products Function as Advertised?

Crypto.com is the perfect example of a jack of all trades. It offers almost every crypto-focused service, from allowing virtual currency spot trading to supporting margin and derivatives products. Additionally, it offers a credit card, allows interaction with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gives users a chance to access crypto-collateralized loans, and has its own decentralized protocol called Crypto.org Chain.

Founded in 2016, the platform has expanded to more than 90 countries and now has more than 10 million users. Also, the company has more than 900 employees. In its early days, it was known as Monaco Technologies. This Crypto.com review discusses available products and features, as well as how the platform compares with other exchanges in the crypto industry.

Active Crypto.com Products

At Crypto.com, you have access to most products and services available in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Here is an overview of the top products.

Crypto Earn

This offering allows users to earn by staking supported cryptocurrencies. The interest earned depends on factors like which coin you’ve staked and the length of time you’ve staked. On average, staking incentives can go as high as 6.5 percent. The platform tabulates staking rewards weekly. Some supported cryptos include Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), Ethereum (ETH), ChainLink (LINK), Stellar (XLM), TrueCAD (TCAD) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Crypto Credit

Crypto.com uses Crypto Credit to dispense crypto-backed loans. The platform has a loan-to-value ratio of up to 50 percent. Interestingly, unlike similar products offered by other projects like Coinbase and BlockFi. Crypto.com gives borrowers the freedom to pay whenever they want by choosing their payment schedule. Additionally, the network eliminates late repayment fees.

The annual percentage yield (APY) on loans stands at 12 percent. Fortunately, staking 50K coins of Crypto.com’s native asset, CRO, brings the rate down to 8 percent.

Crypto.com Pay

As you can probably tell by the name, Crypto.com Pay is a payment feature. Luckily, the payment option does more than just pay for goods and services at retailers. For example, it facilitates sending virtual currencies to friends, conducting mobile top-ups, and buying gift cards. Notably, the feature supports over 14 virtual coins, including BTC, USDT, CRO, LTC, and ETH. Crypto.com Pay also supports API-based website integrations. Currently, it works with OpenCart and WooCommerce, among others.

Crypto.com Visa Card

Dubbed the Metal Visa Card, this card operates as an ordinary prepaid Visa card. As such, it you must keep the card funded with frequent top-ups. You can do so using bank transfer, cryptocurrencies, debit cards, and more. The card uses a tiered ownership approach; the higher your tier, the more benefits you receive.

For example, those holding the “Midnight Blue” card enjoy 1 percent CRO rewards and can withdraw up to $200 per month from ATMs without incurring any fees. Those with the flashy “Obsidian” card get 8 percent in CRO rewards and a free ATM withdrawal limit of $1,000.

Crypto.com App

For those always on the go, the platform provides a mobile application to trade and expand your crypto portfolio. Mobile app users have options of 100 cryptos and 20 fiats. While deposits are free, app-based withdrawals incur a small charge. The app also comes with features like the ability to set up price movement notifications.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Wallet

The DeFi Wallet helps improve the ease of interactions within the decentralized finance industry. Fortunately, it is non-custodial, meaning users have total control over their stored assets. Its strengths lie in its ability to import recovery phrases, its ability to manage hundreds of coins, and its multi-layered security.

Additionally, liquidity providers and yield farmers have a special place in the DeFi Wallet. What’s the reason? They can natively conduct token swaps. If they choose to stake CRO, their yields increase by up to 20 times.

Cryptocurrency Exchange Platform

A matching engine capable of reaching 2.7 million transactions per second powers the Crypto.com platform. The exchange is open to spot, margin, and derivatives trading. Margin traders can boost their positions with up to 3 times the leverage.

The Crypto.com exchange platform offers the “Syndicate” option to provide discounts to investors targeting newly-added coins. On the other hand, the “Supercharger” option offers staking support for select cryptocurrencies with varying interest rates.

Fees and Commission

Crypto.com uses a layered approach to determine how much you should pay for trading and other fees. The levels range from 1 to 6—the higher the tier, the lower your costs. Also, holding and/or staking CRO tokens reduces your fees. Your 30-day trading volume determines your level.

The lowest level, tier one, belongs to those with a trading volume of $0-250K during the previous month. The platform’s maker and taker charges stand at 0.10 percent and 0.16 percent, respectively.

To gain access to level six, you need a 30-day trading volume of more than $200 million. At this level, you pay a maker fee of 0.04 percent and a taker charge of 0.10 percent. Traders at each level are eligible for a 10 percent reduction on their trading fees if they stake a minimum of 5000 CRO tokens.

Crypto.com also has a level for VIP clients. To join this category, you need to explicitly email the company and undergo a thorough check. If successful, you’ll enjoy first access to new products, a dedicated account manager, and access to over the counter (OTC) trades, among other perks.

There are three VIP categories; VIP 1, VIP 2, and VIP 3. Those in the VIP 1 tier have a 30-day trading volume equivalent to or greater than one percent of the platform’s volume. VIP 1 traders pay a maker and taker fee of 0.02 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively.

Buying and Transfer Limits

Crypto.com imposes buying and transfer limits on certain activities. For instance, there are no limits on cryptocurrency deposits, withdrawals, buying, and selling. However, the platform is yet to add support for fiat withdrawals. The method of payment determines the limits on fiat deposits.

For example, ACH deposits have a minimum transfer value of $20per transaction, while the daily maximum limit stands at $20,000. On the other hand, at the minimum transfer value for wire deposits is $5K per transaction, and the maximum limit is $100K in 24 hours.

Referral and Sign-up Promotions

Crypto.com runs referral programs and sign-up promotions to incentivize existing users to recommend Crypto.com to their friends. Use this Crypto.com referral link or use this Crypto.com referral code: psmu8km4zv to sign up for Crypto.com and get a $25 bonus. Get the step-by-step instruction on how to sign-up with a Crypto.com referral code in our Crypto.com referral article.

The platform offers up to $2K in its base asset for each person you successfully invite to sign up. Most importantly, there are no limits on referrals, and the referral bonuses are instant.

Apart from earning a one-time reward of $2K you also get 50 percent of your referral’s trading fees. The referral rewards apply when you invite people to use the Crypto.com exchange or other Crypto.com products with referral incentives. Referral offerings are product-specific:

For example, referral codes tied to the exchange can’t be used to receive bonuses on the mobile app. The person you refer must also meet certain conditions, like staking CRO, to receive incentives. If the referee’s first stake involves 5 million CRO tokens, the referrer gets $2K in referral bonus. The lower the staked amount, the lower the bonus, and vice versa.

Supported Currencies and Countries

The platform supports more than 100 virtual currencies, including leading ones like BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, USDT, USDT, EOS, BCH, and ADA. The mix also features small-cap coins such as Enjin Coin (EJN), VeChain (VET), and Algorand (ALGO).

Also, Crypto.com supports fiat currencies such as the United States/Australian/Canadian dollar, the euro, and the British pound. Some of the supported countries include Belgium, Brazil, Australia, Germany, Kenya, Ireland, Nigeria, Spain, and Japan.

How Does Crypto.com Compare with Binance

Crypto.com and Binance have striking similarities, especially when it comes to products pertaining to cryptocurrency trading. For instance, they both provide margin, futures, and spot trading. However, Binance has a broader array of available cryptocurrencies.  Binance scores more points on reputation owing to its popularity and wide usage. Unfortunately, it doesn’t natively support a dedicated fiat wallet like Crypto.com does.

Binance beats Crypto.com on trading fees. For example, the exchange offers a 25 percent discount on trading fees when one pays using its native coin, BNB, while Crypto.com provides 10 percent off as long as you hold a minimum of 5,000 CRO tokens.

Crypto.com employs two tokens, MCO and CRO, which can be a little confusing even to standard users. On the other hand, Binance has a single token with clearly marked use cases.  But it’s not all doom for Crypto.com. The platform has one of the fastest trade matching engines, higher referral rewards, and a credit card that supports crypto-based purchases.

Conclusion

Crypto.com is a platform that caters to almost every corner of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. If you’re looking to trade, stake, and borrow crypto-backed loans, then Crypto.com is  the perfect option. However, there’s a learning curve; you’ll need to get familiar with two different tokens and how products such as Syndicate and Supercharger can help boost your cryptocurrency portfolio. Also, the platform offers exciting incentives through its referral bonus program.