Crypto.com Chain CRO tokens gained 33% in June, the top performer among the largest digital assets during a month when bitcoin, ether and XRP all fell.
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MARKET MOVES
Credit-card lender and wallet provider Crypto.com's CRO token surged 33% in June, dominating digital-asset markets as bitcoin, ether and XRP from Ripple all declined.
The CRO token's gains made it the top performer during the month among digital assets with a market value of at least $1 billion, according to the data provider Messari.
The second-best performer, Unus Sed Leo (LEO), rose 6.4% in June, followed by Chainlink (LINK) with a 4.6% price increase. The worst performer was bitcoin SV (BSV), which tumbled 21%.
Crypto.com has raised its profile partly through a "tremendous wave of marketing over the past several months," John Todaro, head of currency research at the digital-asset firm TradeBlock, told First Mover in an email.
Chart of Crypto.com CRO token returns versus bitcoin (TradingView)
Bitcoin (BTC), the oldest cryptocurrency and the largest by market value, fell 10% during the month, shaving its year-to-date return to 27%, as price volatility narrowed amid ongoing uncertainty about the future of the coronavirus and related stimulus packages.
Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, slid 9.3%, while XRP from Ripple lost 17%.
Digital assets with a market capitalization of at least $1 billion, ranked by June returns (Messari)
Hong Kong-based Crypto.com raised $26.7 million in 2017 through a sale of its MCO tokens, which are paid out as rewards to credit-card customers.
The CRO tokens, airdropped to MCO holders starting in December 2018 and now traded on more than 20 exchanges, can be used for "cross-asset intermediary currency settlement for the native Crypto.com Chain," according to the company's website.
Of course, smaller digital assets like CRO can be volatile. The token has a market capitalization of $2.2 billion, compared with bitcoin's $169 billion and ethereum's $25 billion, according to Messari.
Crypto.com press officials didn't comment for this story.
Headed by CEO Kris Marszalek, the company launched a beta version of its own cryptocurrency exchange in November, following the shipping of the MCO Visa cards earlier in 2019. Crypto.com announced in May 2020 that it had started shipping credit cards in Europe.
The company also has a payments app and cryptocurrency wallet (launched last month), and customers can earn interest-like rewards by staking bitcoin and other digital assets on its platform.
"The company has aggressively pursued various lines of business which have attracted users, which then bleeds into its token," Todaro wrote.
Last month, Crypto.com sponsored a portion of CoinDesk's Consensus 2020 virtual conference. And on Tuesday, the company's website was advertising a "BTC Anniversary Special," featuring bitcoin "at 50% off, with $2 million allocation!" (The promotion was due to end early Wednesday.)
"The official Twitter handle does frequent giveaways, which draws in more followers and retail traders of its token," Todaro said.
– Bradley Keoun, Editor, First Mover
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Trend: Bitcoin is moving in a tight price range: a sign a breakout – bullish or bearish – could be fast approaching.
Since early May, bitcoin has traded strictly between $9,000 to $10,000. Attempts to move out of this price range have all but failed.
After dipping to $9,000 last week, bitcoin has held at the $9,100 mark. Bitcoin’s price, unusually, has barely tracked $100 since Monday.
Bitcoin’s volatility has fallen precipitously. Its ATR value – a price volatility metric – has dropped 50 points to 315 – the lowest since January.
The market has seen this before. In December and early January, bitcoin was squeezed ever more tightly. It then jumped out of its $100 price range and ultimately peaked at over $10,000 by mid-February.
While the market should expect an imminent breakout once more, there are few signs whether it will move above or below the current range.
Compound: The Money Market on Ethereum (Hacker Noon) On June 26, 2020, the value locked into the Compound protocol reached a staggering $1 billion, making it the "most valuable" decentralized finance protocol.
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How to place a value on bitcoin? Its data are unfamiliar territory for many investors. Nearly half of investors in a recent survey said a lack of fundamentals keeps them from participating.
In a 30-minute webinar July 7, CoinDesk Research will explore one of the first and oldest unique data points to be developed by crypto asset analysts: Bitcoin Days Destroyed.
We'll be joined by Lucas Nuzzi, a veteran analyst and a network data expert at Coin Metrics. Lucas and CoinDesk Research will walk you through the structure of this unique financial metric and demonstrate some of its many applications. Sign up for the July 7 webinar "How to Value Bitcoin: Bitcoin Days Destroyed."
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Crypto.com's CRO Token Dominated Digital Markets in June With 33% Gain