PROPOSAL: Revenue-Backed CRO - Buys and Burns of CRO with 100% of Product Revenue

[lezzokafka]

PROPOSAL: Revenue-Backed CRO - Buys and Burns of CRO with 100% of Product Revenue

Abstract

We propose two changes to how Cronos Labs product revenue and future staking yield are handled:

• 100% Revenue Buy Back and Burn — All revenue from Ult and Cronos Launch buys CRO on the open market and burns it. Monthly, onchain, with every transaction hash published. Operations, infrastructure and any growth spending are funded from existing capital.
• The Strategic Reserve to be used to support future staking reward of Cronos POS —committed to secure the source of staking yield. Staking rewards continue at current Cronos POS parameters, backfilled from the reserve as emissions decay while maintaining long-term sustainability and positioning CRO staking competitively.

Breadth brings activities. Activities bring revenue. Revenue burns CRO. Together we create a direct linkage between the products, CRO and its ecosystem.

Motivation

What this proposal bring

The current position was set by A New Era for CRO #1291. That proposal moved staking from emissions to revenue and named where revenue would go. Alongside the product launch, this proposal takes the next step: the mechanism itself, and a commitment that all revenue from Ult and Cronos Launch buys CRO on the open market and burns it.

	BEFORE - as approved in #1291	AFTER - if this passes
Product revenue	Revenue "collected, converted to CRO, and directed into the rewards pool and other ecosystem initiatives", then "allocated across four main buckets: Staking yield, Growth and user acquisition, Buyback and burn, and R&D/operations."	100% buys CRO on the open market and burns it.
Share to the burn	One bucket of four. No share specified.	100%. Fixed, and the only destination.
Cadence	Not specified.	Monthly, onchain, every hash published. No discretionary timing.
Growth, R&D	Funded from product revenue, as two of the four buckets.	From existing capital. New development ends where it does not drive revenue to CRO.
Staking reserve	"Supplemental support during this transition", and "a finite resource and its deployment is subject to governance."	The Strategic Reserve will be used to support staking rewards. Reward rate unchanged; block rewards continue at current Cronos POS parameters, backfilled from the Strategic Reserve.

The moment

• The products are live. Cronos Launch on 15 September, Ult on 17 September. The commitment is made as the revenue starts.
• To create a direct linkage between the products, the ecosystem and CRO. Until now that linkage was a narrative. This makes it a mechanism: revenue in, CRO bought on the open market, CRO burned, hash published. Product usage becomes supply reduction, and anyone can check it.
• Emissions are already decaying, so the replacement has to arrive. PROPOSAL: A New Era for CRO - Inflation Decay, Tiered Time-Locked Staking & Revenue Bridging #1291 set the decay in motion by design. Revenue is what replaces it. Naming the share and the cadence now is what turns that plan into something the community can hold us to.
• Verifiability is only possible if it is onchain from the start. Buying and burning through a contract on a fixed schedule means the record exists whether or not we talk about it.

Why the reserve is paired with it

Proposal #1291 set the direction and the decay schedule. It left open how revenue would reach CRO and how much of it would back staking yield. This proposal supplies both execution details.

The revenue commitment here is deliberately aggressive: 100% to buy back and burn. #1291 had envisaged revenue split across four buckets, one of which was staking yield. Removing that split is what makes the burn absolute — and it is also what creates an obligation.

Emissions are decaying under the schedule approved in #1291. The Strategic Reserve is proposed to act as a source to keep staking rewards whole, and with them the economic security of the network.

One reduces supply. The other keeps the chain secure while it happens. They are proposed together because separating them would leave the second unfunded.

Part A - 100% of product revenue buys and burns CRO

How it works

Figure 1. The direct linkage, end to end. Revenue from both products reaches one contract, buys CRO, and burns it.

Revenue in, CRO out of supply. Three stages, and no discretion at any point.

• IN - revenue reaches the contract. Trading revenue from Ult and launchpad fees from Cronos Launch are swept into a single buy-and-burn contract.
• BUY - CRO is bought on the open market. The contract converts the balance to CRO through an onchain swap with slippage protection. It buys at the market, like any other participant. There is no internal transfer and no preferential price.
• BURN - the CRO leaves supply. The purchased CRO is sent to the burn address. The transaction hash is published with each burn.

Three properties hold across all three stages, and they are the reason this is a mechanism rather than a policy: it is automatic, it runs on a schedule, and it is onchain and verifiable

Cadence

Buybacks may occur more frequently than burns. Burns are scheduled monthly, executed on-chain with every published hash.

What changes for CRO holders

Product usage becomes supply reduction, mechanically. The commitment is to have 100% of the revenue directly contributed to CRO and its ecosystem, with full visibility in an onchain way.

Part B - Use of the Strategic Reserve to fund staking rewards going forward

Why a reserve is needed

Two things reduce what reaches stakers, and both were decided deliberately.

The first was voted on. #1291 set CRO emissions from staking rewards to decay. That is a community decision already taken, not a projection. In the same proposal, the commitment was made that “a base staking rate is intended to be maintained throughout”, so that “stakers continue to earn a baseline yield for securing the network” at every phase of the transition.

The second is Part A of this proposal. Committing 100% of product revenue to buy back and burn means revenue is not available to fund staking yield.

Emissions are decaying and revenue is now spoken for. The base staking and tier locking rate therefore needs a funded source of its own. This honours what #1291 already promised stakers.

What changes for delegators on Cronos POS

Nothing about how you stake or what you earn. Reward rate, tier structures, lock periods and bonus rates are unchanged.

Implementation

Phase	Scope	Status
Phase 1	Revenue collection and conversion across venues	Product revenue can now be tracked
Phase 2	The buy-and-burn contract and the keeper	In development

Governance Votes

An on-chain governance proposal will be raised. The following items summarize the voting options and what they mean for this proposal.

• YES: You approve of the proposal to 1/ Use 100% revenue from Ult and Cronos Launch to buy CRO on the open market and burn it, monthly and onchain with every transaction hash published; and 2/ Support use of the Strategic Reserve to fund future staking rewards on Cronos POS, so that rewards continue at current Cronos POS parameters, backfilled from the reserve as emissions decay, and so that staking remains competitive and sustainable.
• NO: You disapprove of the proposal in its current form. If this proposal does not pass, Cronos Labs does not proceed with the revenue rule and the Strategic Reserve will not be allocated to fund the staking rewards on Cronos POS ; the vote is not a formality. Feel free to give feedback and suggestions on how to improve the proposal.
• NO (VETO): You veto the entire motivation for the proposal and are strongly opposed to its implementation.
• ABSTAIN: You are impartial to the outcome of the proposal. If the quorum is not met or more than 1/3 of the participating voting power has voted No(Veto), the proposal fails and is considered to be vetoed. In this case, the proposal deposit is burned rather than being returned to respective depositors.

The voting period is 14 days. Quorum is 33.4% of bonded CRO, and more than 50% of non-abstain votes must be Yes. If you delegate and do not vote, your stake inherits your validator's vote, and voting directly overrides it.

Let us know your thoughts

The importance of active community participation in shaping the future of the Cronos POS chain cannot be overstated. Engage with your delegated validators and participate in proposal discussions on Discord and GitHub. Your input is vital in fostering a vibrant ecosystem that benefits all CRO holders and the wider ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This proposal is provided for informational and governance-discussion purposes only. Nothing in this proposal constitutes, or should be construed as, financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Governance participants should conduct their own independent evaluation before voting. This proposal contains forward-looking statements, projections, and illustrative examples based on current expectations and assumptions. Actual outcomes may differ materially due to a range of factors, including, without limitation, market conditions, user adoption, regulatory developments, technical considerations, security risks, and governance decisions. Nothing in this proposal constitutes a guarantee, commitment, or promise of future performance, results, or product availability.

[lezzokafka]

The on-chain proposal is now live as Proposal #37 and is in its voting period.

• Mintscan: https://www.mintscan.io/crypto-org/proposals/37
• Cronos POS Explorer: https://cronos-pos.org/explorer/proposals/37
• Voting ends: 3 October 2026, 02:02 UTC