28 days after launching investment arm, Luno crosses 10m user base

As more crypto companies invest in mainstream innovation that allows people  to interact with crypto seamlessly, the adoption of the digital currency continues to increase. According to the World Economic Forum, 300 million people currently use crypto worldwide, as of March 2022. That’s almost a 300% increase from 2021’s 160 million. 

Luno, a crypto exchange company headquartered in London, said it has now onboarded 10 million crypto users onto its platform. This milestone, announced on Wednesday, means the company acquired 3 million users between last April—when it reached 7 million users—and now. This new number validates the increase of global adoption of crypto in itself.

The milestone is coming barely a month after the company launched Luno Expeditions, its global and early-stage investment arm to support fintech and crypto/web3 founders. 

Founded by Marcus Swanepoel and Timothy Stranex in 2013, Luno said it has enabled over $52 billion worth of crypto transactions, and its customers have stored in excess of $1 billion worth of crypto. It’s currently available in 40 countries including South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Singapore. 

The company said it aims to bring crypto to over 1 billion people by 2030. From the look of things, Luno is likely going to ramp up more of these users from emerging and new-frontier markets in dire need of alternative financial systems. For instance, last year, Luno said, in a statement, that it grew its customer base in Indonesia by 83%, almost doubling its customers in the region. 

Talking of emerging markets, Africa is one of Luno’s strongest markets; over 55% of the new customers added in the last 6 months are based on the continent. The company also recorded that, on average, Africans deposit $53 when they open their account and tend to hold for 7 months.  

There is surely an incredible demand for cryptocurrencies in many emerging and frontier markets, and Luno is positioning itself to save the day. Reaching 1 billion people is ambitious. To take on big corporations like Binance and FTX, Luno and other exchanges must be willing to tread the muddy and bumpy roads to emerging markets. 

“The number of people using crypto worldwide is expected to grow as global markets gain better access to the crypto ecosystem,” said Swanepoel. “Our mission is to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands, and reaching the major milestone of 10 million customers shows we are leading the way in this transition towards building a better, fairer financial system for the world.” 

Despite the instability of the crypto market, global skepticism around the innovation, and regulatory crackdown, its adoption continues to soar; companies building around it continue to experience astronomical growth and secure huge backing from investors. The crypto market is showing resilience that gives its subscribers long-term buy-in.

Marius Reitz, Luno’s General Manager for Africa, said: “We’re thrilled that our customers have helped us achieve this huge milestone. Today’s announcement is testament to the enormous appetite for crypto that still remains on the continent, despite the industry’s challenges over the last year. As we move forward, we want to continue equipping our customers in Africa with the confidence and guidelines they need to safely invest in cryptocurrencies.”

Luno said it has also added more mainstream crypto—chainlink (LINK) and uniswap (UNI)—to its platform, giving its users more options other than bitcoin and ethereum. The company said it continues to forge strategic partnerships and expansions to drive its growth and today. Besides its London headquarters, it has 5 more regional offices in its key markets—South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Singapore. Luno was acquired in 2020 by the Digital Currency Group, the world’s largest blockchain investor, which also owns Grayscale and CoinDesk. Now, its overarching plan is to increase its global customer growth, which is currently at 35% year-on-year.