Crypto wallet Luno has close to two million users and has processed over R62 billion in payments.
Its co-founder Marcus Swanepoel believes cryptocurrencies will have an unprecedented impact on society - bigger than the internet.
Luno currently employs 250 employees in offices around the world, including Cape Town, London, Singapore, and Lagos.
Cryptocurrency could, over time, create a new and better financial system for the world to use, says Marcus Swanepoel, CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency wallet Luno.
Luno is to close hitting two million customers, and had already processed more than R62 billion ($5 billion) in payments.
A cryptocurrency wallet is a secure digital wallet used to store, send, and receive digital currency like Bitcoin.
“The impact of [cryptocurrencies] will be unprecedented and many, many times bigger and more important than the changes the internet brought to the world,” Swanepoel told Business Insider South Africa.
Luno CEO Marcus Swanepoel receiving the UK’s fastest growing tech company of 2018 award in April. (Twitter: @Luno)
Luno CEO Marcus Swanepoel receiving the UK’s fastest growing tech company of 2018 award in April. (Twitter: @Luno)
From a base in Cape Town, Luno operates in more than 40 countries, offering a digital exchange with local currencies and both Bitcoin and Ethereum, and employs over 250 people. It was named the United Kingdom's fastest growing tech start-up for 2018.
Luno was born in Singapore in 2013 when its five co-founders recognised the disruptive potential of this intersection between finance and technology, Swanepoel, originally from Singapore, says.
“Our initial hypothesis was that because it has to do with money and will make the financial system more efficient, banks would be very interested.”
They launched 'Switchless' specifically for business-to-business clients, and a South African company was one of the earliest clients.
“[However], we quickly realised two things: one, the banks were going to be moving very slow in this space; and two, there was a lot of misconceptions around what the technology could or could not do.”
In 2014, they switched their focus to the consumer market and Luno – the Esperanto word for the Moon – was born.
“Right now, it's the easiest and safest way to buy, store and use decentralised cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum,” Swanepoel claims.
Luno's iOS application user face (screenshot)
Luno's iOS application user face (screenshot)
The company’s current shareholders include Naspers which invested R37 billion ($3 billion), Balderton Capital with R112 million ($9 million), and Rand Merchant Investment Holdings for an undisclosed amount.
Swanepoel says Luno is set to double in size by the end of the year, expanding its operations inLondon, Lagos, Singapore and Cape Town.