"Forced" to reforge 70 billion CRO, has decentralized governance become a joke?
Have you heard of chain rollback, but have you heard of token "rollback"?Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher
Editor: TB, ChainCatcher
"Tomorrow, the market cap of Cronos will rise from $2.5 billion to $8.5 billion, with just one vote, and it only takes one voter."
This is the comment made by Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic, on the X platform regarding Cronos, reflecting the true sentiment of the entire crypto community towards this controversial decision.
Yesterday, Cronos passed a highly controversial proposal—to re-mint 70 billion CRO tokens. Ironically, these tokens were officially announced as "permanently destroyed" back in 2021, while the current circulating supply of CRO is only 27.3 billion. This decision is almost equivalent to instantly doubling the total supply of CRO.
Moreover, the voting process is fraught with doubts, and the subsequent actions of the project team are even more thought-provoking. This article will delve into this farce to see just how "magical" it really is.
"Resurrecting" Tokens to Ride the ETF Wave
Cronos is an EVM-compatible chain developed by Crypto.com, aimed at massively scaling the DeFi ecosystem, supporting developers in porting Ethereum and EVM-compatible applications, and reaching Crypto.com's user base. In 2021, Cronos boldly announced the destruction of 70 billion CRO tokens to reduce circulating supply and signal a long-term commitment to the market. However, four years later, this "permanent destruction" promise has been overturned.
On March 2, Cronos Labs proposed to re-mint these 70 billion CRO tokens, equivalent to 70% of the initial supply, to create a so-called "strategic reserve." If the proposal passes, the total supply of CRO will instantly soar from 30 billion to 100 billion.
Cronos Labs dressed this proposal in the guise of a "grand blueprint," claiming that the strategic reserve would be used to promote the adoption of CRO and planning to launch the world's first ETF created by a token issuer—the CRO spot ETF. They painted an ambitious picture: connecting CRO to institutional liquidity pools through the Cronos ETF, accelerating its institutionalization process, and striving to break into the top ten by market cap in the global cryptocurrency space.
Behind the Scenes: Crypto.com Controls 70-80% of Voting Power
During the two-week voting period, the number of supporting votes always slightly exceeded the opposing votes, maintaining a delicate balance. However, since the voter turnout did not exceed the 33.4% threshold, the situation was once at a standstill.
Just as the voting was about to end, 335 million CRO tokens suddenly surged into the "support" camp, pushing the voter turnout past the legal threshold and significantly raising the support rate.
The final voting results were announced: 61.18% in favor, 17.61% against, 20.11% abstained, and 0.11% vetoed, with a total voter turnout of 70.18%, far exceeding the minimum requirement. This dramatic turnaround left the entire community in even greater doubt.
Source: Mintscan
According to UnChained, three independent sources revealed that the outcome of this vote was actually in the hands of Crypto.com itself. The large validator nodes operated by the company control 70-80% of the total voting power, almost determining the final result.
A "Placebo" of Self-Deception
After the vote passed, Cronos proposed a new plan to destroy 50 million CRO (only 0.07% of the newly minted tokens), claiming it was a continuation of the previous destruction plan. According to historical destruction records, Cronos will execute two rounds of destruction each year, with 50 million CRO each time, totaling 100 million CRO annually.
This move seems more like a farce of "self-deception." A community member sharply mocked, "This is simply a slap in the face of all CRO holders. While they re-mint 70 billion CRO, they pretend to destroy 50 million, trying to appease the community with such a small gesture?"
The Collapse of Trust is More Deadly than Token Inflation
Cronos's decision not only damages its own brand image but also strikes a blow to the core rules and consensus of the crypto industry. Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic, pointedly commented on the core issue: "Market cap is a meme; decentralization doesn't matter until it does; immutability doesn't matter until it does."
If rules can be arbitrarily altered, promises become meaningless. The crypto market has always been forgetful, but how many times can it afford to overdraw trust?
