How to Buy Cronos in Australia – Forbes Advisor Australia

Cronos (CRO) is the cryptocurrency issued by Crypto.com, a popular crypto exchange platform. It was launched in 2016, at the same time as Crypto.com made its debut.

Initially known as ‘the Crypto.org Coin’, the currency was rebranded as Cronos in February 2021. 

Cronos can be used to pay fees on Crypto.com, and can also be ‘staked’ (which allows users to earn passive income by tying up coins to help run the blockchain) on the platform in exchange for benefits such as trading fee discounts. It’s a ‘smart contract’ crypto, meaning the blockchain it’s stored on has its own smart contract network. 

One Cronos coin is currently worth around US$0.10 as of mid October 2022, and the currency reached an all-time high of $0.97 in November 2021.  It has a market capitalisation of $US2.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Having splashed out on an advertisement campaign featuring Matt Damon, the naming right to Los Angeles’ Staples Center—now the Crypto.com arena—and sponsorship deals from football to Formula 1, Crypto.com has generated a surge of investor interest in recent years.

Although it’s native to Crypto.com, Cronos can be purchased on several other exchanges, such as eToro and Huobi.

Four steps to buying Cronos (CRO):

1. Choose an Exchange

If you want to buy Cronos (CRO) in Australia, you’ll need to do so through a crypto exchange. This is a website or app that allows you to buy or sell different cryptocurrencies in exchange for fiat (for example, AUD) currency.

There are several crypto exchanges you can choose from. Some of the largest are Crypto.com, Coinbase Pro and eToro. Local Australian exchanges include CoinSpot and Swyftx.

When choosing an exchange, you might consider:

• What cryptocurrencies are listed? As of 2022, there are an estimated 5000 cryptocurrencies. Some exchanges list more than 600 currencies, while others list around 100. 
• What are the fees? Some exchanges charge fees for using certain payment methods, trading coins, or moving your assets off the platform. Credit card fees are particularly common, and tend to be set at 3.99%
• What payment methods are accepted? Most crypto exchanges allow you to purchase coins with debit or credit card deposits and bank transfers.
• Is there an integrated wallet? When you’ve purchased cryptocurrency, it is stored in a crypto wallet. Many platforms offer an integrated wallet option. 

2. Choose a Payment Method

Once you’ve decided which crypto exchange to use, you’ll need to decide how you’re going to pay for your Cronos CRO.

Check whether any payment options come with associated fees before taking the next step. Most exchanges allow you at least one of the following options: deposit Australian dollars via a bank account, link your account to your credit or debit card for payment, or even transfer cryptocurrency from your wallet or another exchange.

If you buy the currency with a credit card, you may also be hit with a higher interest rate than you would get for a normal purchase.

Issuers tend to treat cryptocurrency purchases as if they were cash advances, which incur a fee as soon as the transaction happens. 

3. Place an Order

When you have created and funded an account on your chosen crypto exchange, the next step is navigating to the Cronos CRO page and entering the amount of money you’d like to invest.

4. Choose a Storage Method

The majority of crypto exchanges come with a free, integrated wallet where your Cronos CRO will be automatically stored. That said, you might prefer to hold your coins in a separate, third-party wallet. 

You can use either a ‘hot’ wallet, which stores your crypto online, or a ‘cold’ wallet, which stores it in an offline device such as a hard drive. Hot wallets are typically more vulnerable to hackers, but providers will help you regain access if you’ve lost your code.

Cold wallets are safer since they remove your Cronos CRO from the internet, which means they can’t be reached by hackers. However, if you lose the access code to your cold wallet, there’s no customer service to help you recover it. This means you could permanently lose access to any currencies you’ve stored.