As the crypto pressure intensifies as a result of the bear market, Crypto.com announced a review of their “Earn” program with the removal of 15 altcoins from the earning eligibility. The Crypto Earn Program offers up to 10% on stablecoins and 14.5% on other cryptocurrency deposits while providing support for over 43 assets.

Having delisted 15 altcoins including Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, it also announced revised interest rates for 5 stablecoins: TGBP, TAUD, TCAD, TUSD, and USDP while also adding three new coins: Zilliqa (ZIL), Fantom (FTM) and NEAR to the program.

However, private users of Crypto.com that hold Icy White, Rose Gold, and Obsidian cards will continue to earn 2% per annum additionally on fixed-term allocations. The company also did not change the reward rates for 28 coins which include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Polygon. These will continue to pay out up to a 14.5% reward percentage.

The cryptocurrency community has met this announcement with mixed reactions. Some responses questioned the removal of DOGE and SHIBA from the Earn program because those are two of the meme coins with the biggest follower base and support groups among crypto enthusiasts.

Some other users questioned lowering the interest rates on stablecoins again and expressed that there was no point holding the coins again on the app as the interest rates on traditional banking are almost the same as the new Earn program rates. The majority of the responses were negative and expressed frustration over this new development.

This decision is among a few of some sporadic changes the exchange has made on the back of a bear market. Two weeks ago, the exchange announced that they would be laying off 5% of their staff because of the ongoing negative economic/market conditions. They also cited that other exchanges like Gemini and Coinbase were also laying off workers and cutting down the workforce to cope with the current market downtrend.

Featured image source: The Coin Bureau