> issue their own token: CRO in Crypto.com's case. This token provides extra liquidity to your exchange

Yeah, this is where the fraud happens.

They're treating the token like a bond when it's just .. a made-up thing? It's not a promise to pay, it doesn't have a claim on anything, it doesn't buy you votes, it's just a shiny Pog that you can trade?

This would be like a casino claiming its chips as assets.