Crypto debit card issuer crypto.com rolls out exchange to retain its 1 million customers

The Block • November 14, 2019, 1:14AM EST
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Another crypto firm is edging into the crowded exchange market. 

Cryptocurrency debit card issuer Crypto.com announced on Thursday the launch of a cryptocurrency exchange in an attempt to retain the platform's existing customers, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek told The Block.

According to Marszalek, Crypto.com has already solved the problem of user acquisition before launching the exchange. The firm's task now is to build an ecosystem in which its acquired users are willing to stay. 

"We already have over 1 million users on a secure platform and a customer acquisition engine. Adding full exchange functionality addresses the needs of our existing customers and keeps them within our ecosystem," said Marszalek. 

At launch, the exchange will support nine tokens, among them BTC, ETH, XRP, EOS, and crypto.com's own tokens CRO. The trading fees will be at 0.008% for maker and 0.02% for taker, with free trades for high-volume accounts. 

Meanwhile, the exchange market is heating up with several companies announcing their plans to launch cryptocurrency exchanges recently. Last month, token sales platform CoinList said it will soon roll out an exchange, after raising $10 million from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and others. In July, cryptocurrency wallet provider Blockchain.com's PIT exchange came out of stealth, hoping to attract users with its "microsecond" matching engines. 

Speaking to the intensified competition, Marszalek said, "only full ecosystem players will be able to thrive over the long term. Small players will not be able to compete and will shut down."

AUTHOR

Celia Wan profile picture Celia Wan

Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.

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