Crypto.com will allow users from countries that cannot access the lending program until March 15 to repay their crypto loans.
The company has updated the list of countries that no longer have access to the program. This now includes the United States, Great Britain and 38 other countries. Users from European countries such as Germany, Switzerland and the UK have received emails from the company detailing loan terms. Some users who do not have crypto loans on the platform have also received these emails.
If users fail to repay their loans before March 15, their collateral will be sold and the loan positions will be closed by the exchange. Cointelegraph has reached out to Crypto.com for comment, but has not received a response as of this writing.
Related: Targeted crypto lending companies: what awaits them with the new regulations?
This sudden change has angered Crypto.com customers and made them shake their heads. Many argue that the exchange has spent too much money on advertising and marketing and is now in financial trouble. The exchange’s aggressive marketing over the past year has caused a stir as the company has not raised much capital from investors, unlike many other crypto unicorns.
ONE THREAD ON @cryptocom @cryptocomcs @Kris_HK
It seems that the marketing splurge is starting to take its toll on the balance sheet
I have a decent amount #XRP – certainly not where my *BAGS* are, but… pic.twitter.com/quLEKNiAEK
— XRPGLOBAL (@xrp_ninja) March 8, 2022
Crypto.com’s marketing budget has been debated in the community for a while now. Among other things, the company has spent millions on celebrities as advertising media, buying stadiums and much more. However, the sudden change in lending has only made this theory more plausible to some people in the community.
Crypto lending products have been under the scrutiny of regulators for over a year. Several crypto firms have received notices of securities law violations from their respective government regulators. Credit products Gemini and Celsius were reviewed in January by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. BlockFi was fined $100 million in February for offering unregistered crypto loans.
Additional reporting by Brian Quarmby.