Reversed Burned Tokens, Broken Trust? CRO Reissue Plan Sparks Fierce Debate

In what can only be described as a bold but peculiar move, Cronos has announced that it is proposing a community vote on the creation of a Cronos Strategic Reserve by undertaking a reversal of the February 2021 token burn. 

The 2021 burn was a significant event that enhanced scarcity and increased the value of CRO from 6 cents to 25 cents in a few weeks.

If approved, the proposal aims to reissue 70 billion tokens that were burned during 2021, restoring the total supply to its original 100 billion. 

The proposal has left community members perplexed. 

What is being proposed and Why:

Essentially, Cronos wants to reverse course and reissue the 70 billion tokens. 

The reissued tokens are intended to be placed in a Cronos Strategic Reserve escrow wallet, with a 10-year linear vesting schedule, to support various ecosystem initiatives, including the development of a CRO exchange-traded fund (ETF) and efforts to integrate with traditional finance and artificial intelligence projects. ​

The broader objective, through these initiatives, is to provide a $5 billion push (at CRO’s current prices) to establish US crypto dominance. 

Community Reactions: 

The proposal has sparked considerable debate within the Cronos community.

Many members express concerns that reissuing the burned tokens could dilute the value of existing holdings and undermine the commitment to scarcity established by the initial burn:

minting 70b from thin air? what could go wrong? :))

— SilverGremlin87 (@HorneaLuci) March 3, 2025

I don't want 70 billion coins added to cro, it would make what I have right now completely worthless. And all the hard work I did buying cro over the years was for nothing. I'd sell everything if they did this. You want to add $5billion to cro, then just fucking buy $ 5 billion…

— DarkSoulja3323 (@DarkSoulja3323) March 3, 2025

Others questioned the logic behind the move: 

How will the reverse burn 🔥 of $CRO help the price, that everyone is worried about?

— CharlieDogCrew.cro (@Charlie57488448) March 3, 2025

@kris needs to buy on the open market!! Why bring tokens that were “burned” already. Is he broke??? I don’t think he is, so why not buy it!!!!

— Blaze (@blazee__19) March 3, 2025

Reissuing 70 billion $CRO coins with a “5 year lockup” then saying there is a linear vesting period.

Please explain how this is not just diluting the supply.

Who exactly is getting this 70 billion new coins?

Explain why this is beneficial to the early #CRO coin investors. pic.twitter.com/c7fHbfMDKM

— Blacksea (@333blacksea) March 3, 2025

Others even called it basis for a rug pull:

thats a soft rugpull why every body burn an we mke a revesal. Thats Shit

— 3bk (@3bkkk) March 3, 2025

Who the F came with this ridiculous idea. I urge everyone to vote no on this rugpull

— Arber 🌖🐳🛰️⚛️🉐 (@arber88) March 3, 2025

Conversations on Reddit  express similar frustration:

“That sounds ridiculous.  Would it not just dilute the market and massively reduce the current price.   Don’t see any logic to this at all.  Not a good sign for crypto.com.” 

Some community members believed there has more to the story and demanded clarity:

I think an #AMA session is well needed at this point as there surely has to be more to this than what it seems like on the surface. Outright theft.

All this work cementing strong partnerships with major sports brands and the @cryptocom arena. All destroyed potentially overnight.

— Browny.👊 (@Steven8rown) March 3, 2025

While initially, over 80% of participants in the governance voting opposed the plan, the numbers are now shifting. Voting is open till 17th March. Check latest numbers here.