Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is looking to expand its foothold in the U.S., the latest international platform to try and tap one of the world’s biggest populations of digital-asset investors. Owned by conglomerate Digital Currency Group Inc., Luno is assessing regulatory regimes in all 50 states to allow for its rollout in the course of the year, Marius Reitz, its general manager for Africa, said in an interview.
The United States is home to more than half of the world’s crypto unicorns.
“It is more complex than launching in an individual market because of the different states and different regulations within each of these states, so there are lots of moving parts,” Reitz said. “But it is a company focus for us for 2022.” A number of fast-growing cryptocurrency exchange brands — such as FTX and Binance — have been moving into the U.S. market. According to CB Insights, the world’s biggest economy is home to more than half of the world’s crypto unicorns. A unicorn is a private startup that’s achieved a valuation of at least $1 billion.
Luno has 9 million users from Asia to Africa.
Founded in 2013, Luno has 9 million users from Asia to Africa. Reitz said that it currently offers trading in tokens, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, and could soon add new coins chosen from the world’s ten most liquid cryptocurrencies. “A lot of the operation time goes into security and custody” when choosing a coin, he said. Digital Currency Group was the earliest investor in Luno and acquired it entirely in 2020, going on a year later to achieve a $10 billion valuation when it raised $700 million in a transaction led by SoftBank Group Corp.
