The LSE Directory / Crypto exchanges
Crypto.com is a Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange and financial services company operating a consumer mobile app, a centralized trading exchange, a noncustodial DeFi wallet, an NFT marketplace, and a Visa-branded prepaid card program. Core products let retail users buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency, earn yield through staking, and spend crypto-linked balances at merchants; in 2025 the company added tokenized stock and ETF trading to the app. Its native token, Cronos (CRO), launched in December 2018 and underpins card reward tiers, staking rates, and fee discounts across the platform. The company differentiates on breadth and consumer brand reach rather than a narrow specialty: instead of focusing on institutional order flow or a single asset class, it bundles retail trading, custody, card spending, staking, and Web3 wallet tools into one app aimed at mainstream users, competing with Binance and Coinbase for global retail volume. It has pursued licensing across multiple jurisdictions, including an Australian Financial Services Licence, UK registration as a cryptoasset service provider, and an EU-wide Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) licence obtained in January 2025, rather than operating primarily offshore. It has also leaned heavily on sports and entertainment sponsorship to build recognition beyond crypto-native users, most visibly the 20-year naming rights deal for the Los Angeles arena formerly known as Staples Center and a Formula One sponsorship. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 2016 as Monaco by Kris Marszalek, Bobby Bao, Gary Or and Rafael Melo, and renamed Crypto.com in 2018 after acquiring the domain from cryptography researcher Matt Blaze. Kris Marszalek remains co-founder and CEO. Reported user numbers grew from about 10 million in early 2021 to roughly 100 million by mid-2024, and the company's own site currently states approximately 150 million users across about 90 countries. In February 2026 it received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter, a step toward becoming a federally regulated custodian in the United States. In August 2025, Crypto.com and Trump Media & Technology Group announced a strategic partnership under which Trump Media acquired roughly 105 million dollars of CRO tokens while Crypto.com committed 50 million dollars to Trump Media stock; this followed the SEC's closure of its earlier investigation into the company. The firm has continued expanding regulated coverage in 2026, including a UAE stored value facilities licence and a Singapore/USD transaction partnership with DBS Bank.
