CRO Supply on Cronos to Surge 200% After Unexpected Governance Change

Cronos CRO Supply to Expand 200% After Governance Shake-Up

Crypto governance often operates under the illusion of decentralization, yet in reality, major token holders frequently dictate the outcome of proposals.

A contentious vote in the Cronos ecosystem concluded late Monday, with the community approving an increase in CRO’s total supply from 30 billion to 100 billion over a decade-long vesting period.

This decision came after prolonged resistance from the community. However, in the final hours of voting, a few dominant CRO whales—holders with significant voting power—intervened, shifting the outcome in favor of the expansion.

Cronos, which is closely associated with Crypto.com, initially proposed the reintroduction of 70 billion CRO tokens that had been burned in 2021. The justification: to restore the original 100 billion token supply and establish a “Strategic Reserve.”

Valued at approximately $5 billion based on CRO’s price of $0.08, the plan was pitched as a means to strengthen U.S. crypto presence, support ecosystem growth, and back the launch of a CRO ETF. However, early community response was overwhelmingly negative, with 86% opposing the proposal in the first few days of voting.

Despite the premise of a community-driven governance model, large stakeholders ultimately steered the outcome. The proposal initially failed to reach the 33.4% quorum needed for passage. Then, at 14:00 UTC on Monday, a single transaction amounting to 3.35 billion CRO altered the trajectory, securing the necessary votes for approval. Final tallies showed 61.18% in favor, 17.61% against, 20.11% abstaining, and 0.11% vetoing.

Support among validators also shifted. By March 10, validator networks Starship and Falcon Heavy had endorsed the proposal, while opposition remained strong at 77.97%, with 8.47% abstaining. But by Monday, additional validators—including Electron, Antares, and Minotaur IV—joined in, leveraging 3.2 billion CRO in voting power to push the proposal through.

Following the vote’s conclusion, the Cronos network underwent an upgrade, finalized on March 18 at 03:00 UTC, officially initiating the more than 200% supply increase over the coming years.

The market reacted swiftly. CRO saw an 8.5% decline in the past 24 hours, reflecting investor uncertainty despite a largely stable broader crypto market.