Crypto.com CEO’s Market Outlook Divides Community as CRO Underperforms

As the much awaited alt season faces a seemingly indefinite delay, the frustration over the bearish market is spilling over on crypto twitter. 

Kris Marszalek, the founder of Crypto.com, sparked a heated debate when he shared his views on the ongoing rough patch. 

Cronos Investors, popularly known as CroFam were among those who voiced their disappointment over the several project updates marketed to strengthen Cronos failing to translate into price action.

Here is what went down: 

What Kris Said:

In a post on X, the CEO acknowledged the challenging situation in the altcoin market and emphasised that future success of any project will depend upon its ability to consistently generate demand. 

He highlighted four key ways projects can achieve this:

1. Finding Product-Market Fit (PMF) 
2. Redeploying Free Cashflows 
3. Successfully Launching ETFs 
4. Participating in Reserve Building Initiatives 

He reinforced the idea that investors must conduct their own research, identify such projects, and position themselves accordingly.

The Response: 

The post immediately ignited a discussion as many Cronos investors displayed their  disappointment over the perceived disconnect between project developments and price performance. 

Many investors demanded stability and a clear vision, arguing that Crypto.com needs to prove CRO is such a long-term investment as described by Kris:

And how are we supposed to accomodate these prediction in our life as a community of @cryptocom and @cronos_chain if your relationship status changes daily.

You need to show stability to the community.
You need to show that you had a good plan when you launched Cronos chain.
You…

— Pampa.cro (@Pampadalampa) February 12, 2025

Others challenged Kris directly, asking whether he sees himself as the CEO of an exchange or the leader of a blockchain project:

The question remains if you think you run a project of $CRO or are just a CEO of an exchange???

— Johyo (@Johyo_cro) February 12, 2025

@kris as a business owner how will you help driver CRO into the future? You layout a roadmap but how will it make CRO great again?

Will you no longer be relying on CRO? Will there be a better investment within your blockchain ecosystem?

In your own words “ community is…

— CryptoWar (@CRAVECRO) February 12, 2025

Some pointed out Cronos’ underperformance compared to other exchange tokens, calling the narrative of “rough patch for altcoins”, an excuse:

BNB up 99% in one year
Cro up 2% in one year

One exchange rewards its investors. The other doesn’t

— Trading Places (@Ajcts) February 12, 2025

It is only rough on cronos, all others did great!

— Lars.nothing (@oojierena) February 12, 2025

A user even called CRO’s market performance disappointing. This has been a recurring sentiment in the Cronos ecosystem as the price of an already struggling CRO has further fallen from $0.14 to $0.09 in less than a month. 

Some posts expressed confidence in CRO’s vision, arguing that Crypto.com is making progress across all the themes Kris highlighted, while others called for a burn.

If you look these themes up: PMF, Redeploying cash flows, ETF, etc..CRO/cryptocom meets all of it. Still working towards establishing an ETF and stablecoin. Look at the roadmap by Cryptocom and this post. Positive sentiment. Atleast for CRO, XRP, ADA and other ones. Not meme Tkns

— CryptoLion (@cryptoLion323) February 12, 2025

Nevertheless, it is clear the community isn’t holding back as the gap between expectations and market reality continues to widen.