Cronos (CRO)
Unlock Schedule
Cronos (CRO) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule
As of October 17, 2026, 51.6 billion of the 100 billion CRO (51.60%) have been released. The schedule is ongoing, with no final release date. Over the next 12 months it releases 13.4 billion CRO (all estimated) from Strategic Reserve periodic vesting, worth about $777.48 million at today's price (27.04% of the market cap). Today's release is an estimated 1.17 billion CRO from Strategic Reserve periodic vesting, whose releases run until March 2030.
The chart shows gross modeled releases of every allocation: vesting unlocks, new issuance and reserve distributions, each allocation counted once. These have different meanings; a scheduled release is not evidence that tokens entered circulation or were sold. Review the coverage, sources and assumptions below.
Each color segment in the chart corresponds to a specific allocation group described in the Allocations section below. Underlying assumptions and data models used to reconstruct this schedule are explained in detail under Assumptions, while broader utility insights and token use cases are covered in Tokenomics & Utility.
Tokenomics & Utility
Supply and the strategic reserve
CRO began with an initial supply of 100 billion tokens. In 2021, 70 billion CRO were burned. A 2025 governance proposal later reissued an equal amount on Cronos POS into a strategic reserve. The reserve uses a vesting account, which releases its tokens over time rather than making them all available at once. Cronos describes 100 billion CRO as the supply cap. This history matters because the earlier burn alone does not describe the token’s later economic model. (blog.cronos.com)
CRO’s most direct use is paying transaction fees. On Cronos POS, holders can also delegate it to validators and vote on governance proposals. The staking system has used new CRO emissions to help fund rewards. A 2026 governance change began reducing those emissions over time, with the strategic reserve intended to help support staking rewards during the transition. (docs.cronos.org)
Within Crypto.com products, CRO has another role. Depending on the product and location, locking or staking it can qualify a customer for membership or card benefits. Those company programs have their own terms and are separate from paying a fee on the blockchain. Cronos Labs has also proposed using revenue from its Ult app and Cronos Launch product to buy and burn CRO; the proposed revenue rule is subject to a separate governance vote. (help.crypto.com)
Upcoming CRO Releases
| Period | Allocation | Type | Amount | Value | % of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17 – 31, 2026 | Strategic Reserve periodic vesting | Vesting, estimated | 564.5M | $32.8M | 0.56% |
| Nov 2026 | Strategic Reserve periodic vesting | Vesting, estimated | 1.2B | $67.7M | 1.17% |
| Dec 2026 | Strategic Reserve periodic vesting | Vesting, estimated | 1.2B | $67.7M | 1.17% |
| Jan 2027 | Strategic Reserve periodic vesting | Vesting, estimated | 1.2B | $67.7M | 1.17% |
| Feb 2027 | Strategic Reserve periodic vesting | Vesting, estimated | 1.2B | $67.7M | 1.17% |
| Mar 2027 | Strategic Reserve periodic vesting | Vesting, estimated | 1.2B | $67.7M | 1.17% |
| Total, next 12 months | 13.4B | $777.5M | 13.40% | ||
Values at $0.058 per CRO (October 16, 2026), today's price, not a forecast. Releases continue after September 2027. Estimated amounts are modeled from the schedule's rules rather than dated by a source; see the Assumptions below. Releases without dates are listed under Allocations.
Assumptions
The chart dates the original CRO that survived the 2021 burn to its 2018 issuance and shows the 70-billion-CRO Strategic Reserve reissued in 2025. It shows the reserve becoming available in 60 approximately monthly installments, with their calendar placement marked as an estimate rather than treating them as additional minting. POS rewards also create CRO, but their historical amounts could not be dated reliably; grant payments and possible spending from the reserve remain open. The burned original tokens are recorded separately and never appear as a release.
- Particle B chain ecosystem development allocation: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- Cronos POS validator and delegator rewards: New issuance depends on network activity, such as staking, so it cannot be dated in advance.
- Strategic Reserve support for staking rewards: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
- Cronos Ecosystem Grants: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- 1. https://crypto.com/kr/transaction-support-info/cro
- 2. https://crypto.com/us/company-news/crypto-com-2021-highlights-the-year-crypto-went-mainstream
- 3. https://help.crypto.com/en/articles/5015391-all-about-staking-cro-on-earn
- 4. https://blog.cronos.org/p/the-new-golden-age-for-cronos
- 5. https://blog.cronos-pos.org/p/the-new-golden-age-for-cronos
- 6. https://github.com/crypto-org-chain/chain-main/discussions/1124
- 7. https://github.com/crypto-org-chain/chain-main/discussions/1291
- 8. https://github.com/crypto-org-chain/chain-main/discussions/1323
- 9. https://github.com/crypto-org-chain/chain-main/discussions/1139
- 10. https://cronos-pos.org/explorer/proposals/
- 11. https://docs.cronos-pos.org/cronos-pos-chain-protocol/module_overview/module_mint
- 12. https://docs.cronos-pos.org/cronos-pos-chain-protocol/module_overview/module_inflation
- 13. https://blog.cronos.org/p/cronos-ecosystem-grants-7a4a2de3b721
- 14. https://blog.cronos.org/p/cronos-mainnet-beta-is-now-live-def60afb5148
- 15. https://cronos-pos.org/explorer/api/v1/supply/total
- 16. https://cronos-pos.org/explorer/api/v1/supply/burned
- 17. https://etherscan.io/token/0xA0b73E1Ff0B80914AB6fe0444E65848C4C34450b
- 18. https://www.cryptocompare.com/media/38553930/crypto_com_.pdf
- 19. https://www.allcryptowhitepapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cryptoCom-chain_whitepaper.pdf
- 20. https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/02/22/cryptocom-to-burn-70b-cro-tokens-ahead-of-full-blockchain-launch-next-month
Tokenomics Overview
Market Data
Tile coloring: Green indicates positive changes, red indicates negative changes, and neutral indicates no significant trend or unavailable data.
Perpetuals: 2 markets on OKX and Lighter · $1.5M open interest
 OKX (CEX) | 602K | 36K/33K |
 Coinbase (CEX) | 286K | 63K/107K |
 KuCoin (CEX) | 149K | 16K/20K |
 MEXC (CEX) | 114K | 5.6K/12K |
 Gate.io (CEX) | 103K | 18K/26K |
 Kraken (CEX) | 39K | 8.3K/77K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 24K | 1.5K/1.3K |
Kraken (CEX) | 21K | 4.5K/16K |
OKX (CEX) | 9.5K | 8.4K/10K |
Kraken (CEX) | 3.1K | 3.9K/1.8K |
OKX (CEX) | 1.4K | 6.7K/13K |
OKX (CEX) | 1.4K | 5.6K/5.5K |
Kraken (CEX) | 1.1K | 1.2K/19K |
Allocations
Parts of this allocation with their own release dates are charted as their own allocations; the chart shows the rest here.
Description
#38
Cronos is an EVM-compatible blockchain network that interoperates with Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems. It supports DeFi, NFTs, and metaverse applications and provides low-cost, high-throughput, and fast-finality transactions.
| Sector: | Layer 1 |
| Blockchain: | Other L1 |
Tokenomics Overview
Market Data
Tile coloring: Green indicates positive changes, red indicates negative changes, and neutral indicates no significant trend or unavailable data.
Perpetuals: 2 markets on OKX and Lighter · $1.5M open interest
OKX (CEX) | 602K | 36K/33K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 286K | 63K/107K |
KuCoin (CEX) | 149K | 16K/20K |
MEXC (CEX) | 114K | 5.6K/12K |
Gate.io (CEX) | 103K | 18K/26K |
Kraken (CEX) | 39K | 8.3K/77K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 24K | 1.5K/1.3K |
Kraken (CEX) | 21K | 4.5K/16K |
OKX (CEX) | 9.5K | 8.4K/10K |
Kraken (CEX) | 3.1K | 3.9K/1.8K |
OKX (CEX) | 1.4K | 6.7K/13K |
OKX (CEX) | 1.4K | 5.6K/5.5K |
Kraken (CEX) | 1.1K | 1.2K/19K |