This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to write about the Crypto.com Coin (CCC:CRO-USD). As I always do the first time around, I figure out precisely what utility the crypto brings to the table.
Call it a utility sniff test.
Does CRO-USD have it? I’ll take a look.
The Benefit of Owning Crypto.com Coin
I heard from a little bird recently that CRO-USD was the be-all and end-all of cryptocurrencies. This well-informed person, who will remain nameless, suggested that this was the crypto I should buy to enter the fray.
Until now, I’ve tried to figure out which of the hundreds of coins available was worth buying. To date, my two favorites are Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) and Solana (CCC:SOL-USD).
However, the only thing I can say with certainty about cryptocurrencies is that I possess an open mind. So, give me a good argument why I should own Shiba Inu (CCC:SHIB-USD) and I’ll jump on board.
I’ve yet to hear one.
So, to assess the utility of the Crypto.com coin, I need to understand why it exists in the first place.
Crypto.com’s Timeline
According to Brave New Coin, Crypto.com got its start in 2016 under the name Monaco. In 2017, the company created the MCO token through an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised $26.7 million. The following year it rebranded to Crypto.com. Finally, in 2019, it launched a cryptocurrency exchange and the rest is history.
As I found with the Celsius Network in June, any outfit that provides higher interest rates for my savings is worthy of consideration. Crypto.com provides rewards for your crypto deposits in precisely the same manner. It also provides loans based on your crypto holdings, pre-paid Visa (NYSE:V) cards with tiered rewards and cashback, and of course, the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies.
Lastly, it launched its NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace in 2021, providing artists with an alternative to OpenSea, the leader in the buying and selling of NFTs.
Naturally, all of these things are driven by the Crypto.com coin.
While I continue to have an issue with people using crypto to pay for things when greenbacks work just fine – not to mention CRO-USD has appreciated by 1,062% year-to-date, making a t-shirt purchase with the Crypto.com coin a very expensive mistake – the idea of a native coin for the Crypto.com trading platform and Crypto.com blockchain makes complete sense.
So, yes, the Crypto.com coin does possess some utility.
Valuing the Utility
This is where things get a little dicey. After all, unless you’re getting an ownership stake in Crypto.com – the revenue-generating business that’s driving the coin’s appreciation – it doesn’t seem much different than some of the speculative altcoins such as Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) or the previously mentioned Shiba Inu.
So, how do you value its utility?
InvestorPlace’s Stavros Georgiadis recently highlighted some of the benefits of Crypto.com. I listed most of them in the previous section. However, my colleague did point out that it has more than 10 million users. As this grows, you can be sure CRO-USD’s value will appreciate.
The one thing that does confuse me is my colleague’s excitement with some of its sponsorships, such as Formula One and its $700 million deal to obtain the naming rights for the Staples Center for the next 20 years. These have little to do with utility and everything to do with marketing. And that’s fine. Getting Matt Damon to advertise your business isn’t a bad idea, but it’s not an attribute of utility.
For that, I’ll need to take a closer look at its open-source blockchain.
So, to sum it up, I’ve seen enough to know that the Crypto.com coin passes the initial utility sniff test. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a closer look to see if it’s got what it takes to move into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
I’m intrigued, but you won’t see me buying CRO-USD soon. Perhaps by the end of the year, my position will have changed.
On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he’s appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
