
Next, we will talk about Cronos Chain, the Crypto.com CRO Token blockchain network, and in this post, we will explain everything about the Cronos network, and we will also explain how to add the Cronos network to Metamask.
Introduction to Cronos Chain
Cronos Chain
Crypto.org introduces the mainnet beta version of Cronos, the EVM-compatible chain based on the Cosmos SDK, on November 8, 2021.
Cronos is the EVM compatible chain that runs parallel to the Crypto.org chain (opens a new window). Its goal is to massively scale the Chain DeFi ecosystem, providing developers with the ability to rapidly port Ethereum applications and EVM-compatible chains, with funding from Particle B’s $100 million EVM fund (opening a new window) and access to the 10+ million user base of the Crypto.com ecosystem.
Chronos on Ethermint
Cronos is powered by Ethermint (opens a new window), enabling fast transfer of applications and smart contracts from Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains. The base settlement currency of Cronos will be CRO, the native currency of the Crypto.org Chain. The Inter Blockchain Communications (IBC) protocol enables interoperability and connection with the Crypto.org chain: a fully decentralized, open-source, energy-efficient public chain with high speed and extremely low fees. It also allows interoperability with other IBC-enabled chains (Cosmos Hub).
Characteristics
EVM Compatible – Ethereum developers, are used to smart contract capabilities, as Ethermint can support any smart contract, DAO or Dapp implemented on Ethereum.
Scalable – Tendermint can process many more transactions per minute than the EVM, making running smart contracts faster, cheaper, and greener.
Interoperable – IBC is a protocol that allows blockchains to communicate with each other; interoperate and transfer value, exchange assets, and services, and connect without encountering the scale issues inherent in some of today’s largest blockchains.
Easy Deployment – Users can follow the deployment instructions to quickly and easily deploy the Cronos network for their own usage purposes.
Crypto.com ecosystem: 10 million users + ecosystem
Crypto.com Community Support – Finance + Audit
Architecture Overview
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) has spawned many useful and interesting projects. Instead of re-implementing the wheel, Crypto.org Chain can take advantage of these existing projects and add the high speed and low transaction costs of the Cosmos SDK. Cronos is an EVM sidechain along the Crypto.org mainchain built on Ethermint with smart contract capability. Its goal is to power and scale decentralized applications for the future multi-chain world, focusing on use cases of NFT, DeFi, and payments. EVM support will enable simple migration of applications from other chains, fueling the exponential growth of the ecosystem for Crypto.org, a fully decentralized open-source public chain with high speed and extremely low fees.
Solution
Ethereum Virtual Machine – EVM is the widely adopted standard for smart contract development. With EVM support, developers can build the same way they would on Ethereum and benefit from the same tools and applications.
Cosmos SDK – A modular blockchain development framework where components are interdependent. You can develop your own modules to meet the custom needs of your application, in addition to using pre-built modules such as governance, token transfer, or IBC (inter-blockchain communication) module functionality.
Tendermint Proof-of-Stake Core BFT Consensus Engine – Unlike other pre-packaged and integrated blockchain solutions, developers can use Tendermint for application BFT state machine replication in any language they want and any development environment they want. works for them.
Proof of Authority – A more streamlined and scalable consensus protocol while maintaining security with various validators running many different parts.
consensus engine
Cronos Testnet is based on Ethermint, a proof-of-stake blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK that is EVM-compatible. Ethereum requires improvements in scalability, gas price, and customization. Cronos uses the Cosmos SDK (opens a new window) and the Tendermint (opens a new window) Core Consensus Engine below. Tendermint works well for PoS/DPos networks, enables high transaction throughput, and provides instant transaction finality on block commit. It was chosen as the consensus engine for the Chain prototype due to the following additional reasons:
- Backed by formal research (opens a new window) ;
- Solidly tested application (opens a new window) ;
- Adoption history: Tendermint has been in continuous development since 2014 and has been adopted by several high-profile projects. (opens a new window) ; Y
- Modular architecture: Offers flexibility on how and how applications are developed.
Using MetaMask in Cronos mainnet Beta
In the following step-by-step guide, you will learn how to use the MetaMask Chrome Extension to send/receive and interact with the Cronos chain.
Connection to the main beta of Cronos
First of all, we would need to connect MetaMask to the Cronos chain network:
- Click my account button in the upper right corner, under “Settings,” select “Networks.”
- On the “Networks” page, click “Add Network”:
- Insert the name of the network, for example, “Cronos,” and put
https://evm-cronos.crypto.org
for the new RPC URL; Y25
for String ID,CRO
for the symbol, andhttps://cronos.crypto.org/explorer/
for the block explorer URL as shown below:
- After saving the network settings, we should be able to see the token in your address!
Import private key to MetaMask
Alternatively, we can export the private key using the unsafe-export-eth-key
con command cronosd
, for example:
cronosd keys unsafe-export-eth-key mykey --keyring-backend test
It will show your private, and we can copy it for the next step.
Then click my account button in the top right corner again, select “Import account” under “My account” in your MetaMask:
Paste the private from the previous step here and click “Import.”
Once you’ve connected, you should see your balance and can start trading through MetaMask.
address conventions
Note that the address format in Cronos is in the form of bech32 crc...
, which we can use cronosd debug addr
to convert an address between hexadecimal and bech32, for example:
$ cronosd keys list --keyring-backend test
- name: mykey
type: local
address: crc19a6r74dvfxjyvjzf3pg9y3y5rhk6rds2c9265n
pubkey: '{"@type":"/ethermint.crypto.v1alpha1.ethsecp256k1.PubKey","key":"Azy1tg0wZKRdQ7sd9mICzteCstGThiodZtQqlVT9Amlc"}'
mnemonic: ""
$ cronosd debug addr crc19a6r74dvfxjyvjzf3pg9y3y5rhk6rds2c9265n
Address: [47 116 63 85 172 73 164 70 72 73 136 80 82 68 148 29 237 161 182 10]
Address (hex): 2F743F55AC49A446484988505244941DEDA1B60A
Bech32 Acc: crc19a6r74dvfxjyvjzf3pg9y3y5rhk6rds2c9265n
Bech32 Val: crcvaloper19a6r74dvfxjyvjzf3pg9y3y5rhk6rds2ph398y
$ cronosd debug addr 2F743F55AC49A446484988505244941DEDA1B60A
Address: [47 116 63 85 172 73 164 70 72 73 136 80 82 68 148 29 237 161 182 10]
Address (hex): 2F743F55AC49A446484988505244941DEDA1B60A
Bech32 Acc: crc19a6r74dvfxjyvjzf3pg9y3y5rhk6rds2c9265n
Bech32 Val: crcvaloper19a6r74dvfxjyvjzf3pg9y3y5rhk6rds2ph398y
Observations:
One would have to add 0x
at the beginning when using the Ethereum HEX address shown above: e.g.: Address (hex): 2F743F55AC49A446484988505244941DEDA1B60A
implies that it 0x2F743F55AC49A446484988505244941DEDA1B60A
will be the address in the Ethereum form.
Reset your account in Metamask
If you encounter any issues with your account or have used the imported account for transactions on the legacy testnet, you can reset it using the Reset Account
function in the MetaMask.
Just go to Setting/Advance
and click Reset Account
as shown below: