Crypto.com has abandoned a proposed multi-billion-dollar public-market structure built around CRO, while also cutting cardholder incentives, losing senior executives, and watching its token remain under heavy pressure.
According to Protos, Crypto.com, Trump Media’s publicly traded DJT, and another listed company that had adopted the ticker MCGA ended their proposed business combination over the weekend. The planned digital asset treasury, or DAT, stock had been presented as “the first and largest publicly traded CRO treasury company.” That is no longer happening.
As part of the deal process, the company had switched its ticker from YORK to MCGA, a clear reference to Trump’s MAGA slogan. Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek had said MCGA would become the world’s largest CRO holder, would somehow exceed CRO’s own market capitalization, and would keep buying CRO “forever.” Protos wrote that none of those forecasts materialized.
On the cancellation news, CRO fell below $0.05, its lowest level since October 2023. The companies also scrapped a second arrangement that would have had Crypto.com service ETFs by Yorkville America, the company behind the MCGA ticker.
The three companies blamed “prevailing market conditions, and shifting business and stakeholder priorities.” Marszalek said, “moving forward under current market conditions doesn’t make sense.” Protos described the cancellations as a sign that Crypto.com’s once-solid relationship with the Trump brand was showing strain.
Card rewards are being reduced again
The report said customers were already frustrated before the treasury plan fell apart. In late July, Crypto.com emailed cardholders to say it would reduce cashback rates and other benefits, including airport lounge access.
Starting October 1, the cashback rate on Ruby tier Crypto.com cards will fall by 50 basis points, from 2% to 1.5%. The monthly spending cap tied to those rewards will also drop from $1,250 to $750. For Icy White tier cardholders, the change is sharper: unlimited 4% cashback is being replaced with a 3.5% rate capped at $3,000 in spend.
Those reward rates required users to lock up CRO tokens. Protos said many cardholders complained that the terms had changed while their tokens were still locked. One user argued, “It’s about ethics and trust,” adding that “it is reasonable to expect those conditions to be honoured for the agreed period.”
Reward cuts do not stop with cashback. Staking yields for users who locked CRO to access those card perks are also scheduled to decline on September 10. The Pro lock-up tier is dropping from 4% to 3%, while the top Private lock-up tier will fall from 9% to 6%.
Protos noted that this is not the first time Crypto.com has reduced incentives for cardholders. In May 2022, the exchange cut CRO card rewards so abruptly that community backlash forced a partial reversal within days.
Senior departures add to the pressure
Crypto.com has also seen a string of leadership exits.
- Chief Legal Officer Nick Lundgren resigned in April. Protos said that although Crypto.com has its own prediction market division, Lundgren joined rival prediction market company Underdog a few weeks later.
- Chief Marketing Officer Steven Kalifowitz stepped down on June 30. He had been the executive behind the $700 million, 20-year naming-rights deal for Crypto.com Arena.
- Chris Fargis, who oversaw Crypto.com’s prediction markets initiative, left on July 10 after less than a year in the role.
Those departures came after broader cuts. In March, the exchange reduced headcount by 12%, or around 180 jobs, according to the report.
Lawsuit and service disruption
Crypto.com’s derivatives arm sued Washington’s state attorney general in July, arguing that federal law shields its sports prediction markets from state gambling regulation.
On August 2, crypto deposits and withdrawals across all networks were halted for roughly three hours. The company’s status page said, “All user funds remain completely safe.”
CRO remains far below prior highs
At the time of writing cited by Protos, CRO was trading near $0.047, down roughly 48% this year, 71% over the past 12 months, and 95% below its November 2021 peak.
Protos said it contacted Crypto.com for comment but had not received a response before publication.