Crypto.com Targets U.S. Institutions with New CRO Investment Trust

Crypto.com is making a new push to attract institutional interest in its ecosystem by teaming up with Canary Capital to launch a U.S.-based investment trust

Crypto.com is making a move to attract institutional interest in its ecosystem by teaming up with Canary Capital to launch a U.S.-based investment trust focused on its native token, CRO.

This initiative, announced on Thursday, sees the firm shift away from traditional ETFs to create a private, regulated vehicle that will be accessible to accredited investors only.

The newly introduced Canary CRO Trust provides exposure to CRO in a format that aligns with U.S. financial regulations—but without being a publicly traded fund. The trust is part of Crypto.com’s broader effort to make digital assets more approachable to mainstream finance, especially in a jurisdiction like the U.S., where regulatory caution still dominates.

Cronos, the blockchain underpinning CRO, is designed for compatibility with Ethereum and Cosmos, facilitating DeFi, NFTs, and other Web3 capabilities. Its ecosystem, with nearly $440 million in total value locked, continues to expand steadily, driven by applications like VVS Finance.

The move comes as Crypto.com is also awaiting regulatory approval for a separate set of ETFs developed in partnership with Trump Media & Technology Group. These products, which will include CRO among their holdings, are still pending approval from the SEC.

CRO itself boasts a market cap of around $880 million, trading just under $0.10 as of mid-May. While Europe has seen faster progress—21Shares already launched a CRO-linked product there—U.S. investors are still awaiting regulatory clearance for such products.

This development follows a broader trend of increasing interest in altcoin investment products, with firms like VanEck also filing for ETFs linked to other exchange-linked tokens such as BNB.