Luno, one of Africa’s largest crypto exchange platforms, is attempting to break into the US market. The UK-based exchange company, which was founded in 2013 with the goal of increasing crypto acceptance in developing nations, is now aiming to expand into the world’s largest crypto market by the end of the year.
In an interview, Mauris Reitz, the business’s General Manager (Africa), stated that the company is working hard to overcome the complex legal terrain unique to all fifty states in the US before establishing its presence. The Series B firm, which currently has a strong presence in Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, and parts of Connecticut, will attempt to join the list of unicorns in the next few years after gaining large footprints in the US.
It has competed with Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange platform, for dominance in Africa, and has benefited greatly from Nigerians and South Africans, who accounted for more than 40% of the total two million new customers it obtained in 2021.
Part of Luno’s aim has already been accomplished, with Kenya, Nigeria, and Togo ranking 5th, 6th, and 9th on the top ten list of worldwide crypto adoption. But, first and foremost, much more has to be done to raise crypto awareness across Africa and encourage educated investment, backed by adequate government oversight.
Luno is trying to grow its $10 billion valuations and attract additional credibility, as well as go into ETF trading in Africa and the United States, with the help of big global investors such as Digital Currency Group and Naspers Ltd.
However, ETFs, which are separate instruments designed to monitor and imitate the price of an asset such as Bitcoin without exposing investors to the risk of holding the commodity, have been a source of debate in the United States.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is still dealing with the demand to enact legislation for the now multi-billion-dollar crypto business, and has slowed its pace to avoid making costly haste mistakes. Part of this decision may be observed in its recent denial of Skybridge and Bitwise ETF proposals, particularly in light of the existing stock market work-week conundrum, which requires ETF trading to cease at the end of the weekday and may not be fit for a 24/7 crypto market.
In South Africa, the situation is similar, and Luno is calmly awaiting the outcome of regulatory initiatives before acting.
Luno’s ability to gain a few percent market share from Coinbase and Binance remains to be seen. To accomplish this, it would have to be strapped on for a longer period of time.