Luno Cuts Global Workforce by 20%, Focuses on Institutional Business

Crypto exchange Luno is cutting its global workforce by about 20% as it aims to lower costs amid weak retail trading and strengthen its institutional business and stablecoin infrastructure.

The company's CEO, James Lanigan, said the restructuring will help expand Luno's business-to-business operations while reducing costs to reflect current market conditions. He noted that the staffing structure needed to run the business is changing rapidly due to significant investments made last year in automation and operational efficiency.

Luno plans to bolster services for institutional investors, core infrastructure, and regulatory compliance capabilities, while continuing to invest in products for retail customers. The company has about 16 million users across Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

The exchange is also stepping up its local-currency stablecoin push, with plans to apply the ZARU model, a South African rand-pegged stablecoin, to other emerging markets that lack local-currency stablecoin infrastructure.