On July 28th, CEO James Lanigan announced that cryptocurrency exchange Luno is cutting 20% of its global workforce and restructuring its operations into three separate divisions, citing a downturn in retail trading and a growing trend towards automation. However, the company did not disclose the total number of employees affected by the layoffs.
Among the staff being laid off are South Africans, though specific regional figures were not confirmed. Luno, which is headquartered in London and operates in Africa and Asia, is owned by the American firm Digital Currency Group.
"This was an incredibly difficult decision, and we did not take it lightly," Lanigan stated. "Our organization is filled with incredible people, and saying goodbye to colleagues who have contributed so much is extremely hard. But this was a decision we had to make — for our customers, our remaining team, and our long-term mission to build a sustainable and focused structure."
This wave of layoffs marks the second major round of cuts on the platform in three and a half years. In January 2023, during a sharp downturn in the digital asset market, Luno cut 35% of its workforce, which at the time numbered around 960 employees.
In South Africa, where Luno was founded in 2013, formal consultations with affected employees have begun in accordance with the requirements of Section 189 of the country's Labour Relations Act.
The company's leadership cited a cyclical downturn in retail user activity in the cryptocurrency space and ongoing investments in automated tools as the primary factors behind the restructuring. Luno stated that the integration of automated systems has fundamentally changed the company's resource needs, making a more streamlined operational structure necessary.
Alongside the staff reductions, Luno is restructuring its operational framework by splitting it into three unified divisions built on a single foundational platform. Firstly, the company is consolidating its consumer platform—which serves over 16 million users in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region—with an API integration for business-to-business operations. This service allows institutional partners to offer cryptocurrency trading, asset custody, and regulatory compliance under their own brand, utilizing Luno's backend infrastructure.
The second division specializes in local currency-pegged stablecoin solutions for emerging markets. The focus of this division is Zaru—a rand-backed stablecoin launched in February 2026, designed for low-cost, same-day, round-the-clock settlements. The third division represents the institutional arm, offering an over-the-counter (OTC) desk for large-volume asset conversion and cross-border currency settlement networks.
According to reports, this latest restructuring follows a recent scaling back of Luno's global presence. The platform notified users in certain markets that it would discontinue its services effective September 1, 2026. The ability to deposit funds and purchase cryptocurrency was disabled on June 1, with customers given time until August 31 to liquidate assets and withdraw funds to local bank accounts.
