Crypto.com deploys its Ethereum Virtual Machine chain testnet

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The Crypto.com chain testnet allowing projects built on Ethereum to transfer over to its ecosystem from chains compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine is now live.

In a Tuesday announcement, Crypto.com said it had launched the testnet for its Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM, chain called Cronos, running in parallel to the Crypto.org chain. The chain is aimed at providing developers the ability to move projects from Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains to the Crypto.org ecosystem, giving users greater access to DeFi features like smart contracts.

“We are going to provide full support for developers building on Cronos: technical, funding, marketing — everything you need to turn your idea into reality,” said Crypto.com CEO and co-founder Kris Marszalek. “Combined with easy dapp portability, I’m confident we will see an explosion of activity on Cronos.”

Crypto.org’s native token CRO will be used for settlements on Cronos. The token is currently ranked 30th out of all cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap at the time of publication, with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion. The company reported developers could benefit from startup accelerator Particle B providing $100 million in capital to projects contributing to the Crypto.org blockchain.

Running on a proof-of-authority consensus algorithm, Cronos is powered by Ethermint, a proof-of-stake chain interoperable with Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains. The testnet is open source.

First going live on the Crypto.org blockchain mainnet in March, Crypto.com claims to have a user base of more than 10 million people. This year, the project has launched a nonfungible token platform and joined the Visa network to expand the reach of its cryptocurrency credit card.