Luno aims to expand user base with DCG $700M funding

Jesper Leong

November 7, 2021
2 min read
Business

Luno looks to grow their users aggressively with the expansion into the US and expertise from equity investors like SoftBank, Google’s Capital G and GIC.

Digital asset platform Luno saw its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) close a secondary investment round led by Softbank which raised more than $700 million, and the company is now valued at $10 billion.

Equity investors such as Google’s Capital G, Ribbit Capital, GIC, Tribe Capital, and Emory University joined Softbank’s Vision Fund II in the investment round to purchase DCG stock from existing investors.

DCG is the leader of well-known subsidiaries in the crypto space such as news site CoinDesk, institutional lending firm Genesis, and digital currency investment firm Grayscale Investments. With investments in over 200 blockchain companies like Chainalysis, Circle, and Elliptic, the company is expected to exceed $1 billion in revenue by the end of 2021.

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As one of DCG’s main subsidiaries, Luno is expected to benefit from the influx of funds and expertise from the recent investment round. While the consumer-focused platform currently has a user base of 9 million, the company anticipates that this new round of funding will bring them closer to their desired target of a billion customers by 2030.

“Luno now has unparalleled access to not only the capital from this investment but also the wealth of experience which comes from this syndicate of backers. The expertise and mentorship across many functional areas from engineering to marketing will help scale the business’ operations in readiness for further growth.” said a Luno spokesperson.

Founded in 2013 by Marcus Swanepoel and Timothy Stranex an acquired by DCG in 2020, Luno currently has 400 employees in South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Singapore and the UK.