Business Wire

NY-DIGITAL-CURRENCY

9.9.2020 12:02:09 CEST | Business Wire | Press release

Share
Digital Currency Group Acquires Luno, a Leading Bitcoin and Digital Asset Exchange

Digital Currency Group (DCG), a global enterprise that builds, buys, and invests in blockchain companies, today announced the acquisition of Luno , a leading cryptocurrency exchange. Based in London and with regional hubs in Singapore and Cape Town, Luno has grown significantly in recent years, with nearly 400 employees and more than five million global customers spanning over 40 countries. New York-based DCG will be making a significant financial commitment to help Luno expand globally, both in geographies where Luno currently operates and beyond. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Led by co-founder and CEO Marcus Swanepoel, Luno has become a digital asset powerhouse in many emerging and frontier markets, providing digital asset education, knowledge, and investment tools for individuals in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Luno has helped broaden the global crypto investment community and the company has seen record growth of its customer base in 2020. Luno is a leading exchange in several countries that have the highest percentage of cryptocurrency ownership, including South Africa (third-highest percentage of its citizens owning digital currencies), Nigeria (fifth-highest), Indonesia (sixth-highest), and Malaysia (tenth-highest).1

DCG is an investment firm that has backed more than 160 blockchain companies around the world. In addition to its venture portfolio, DCG is the parent company of several wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Grayscale Investments (the world’s largest digital currency asset manager), Genesis (a leading digital asset prime brokerage), CoinDesk (the preeminent media and events company in the industry), and the recently-launched Foundry , which provides institutional expertise, capital, and market intelligence to bitcoin miners and manufacturers.

DCG first invested in Luno in its seed round in 2014.

“We are proud to have supported Luno as an early investor, and we recognize a shared commitment to building mission-driven companies that can help transform traditional financial services and improve economic freedom for people all over the world,” said DCG Founder and CEO Barry Silbert. “Luno is a high growth, global business and there is a massive opportunity to expand organically and through acquisitions.”

DCG enables its subsidiaries to operate as independent companies, providing leadership, partnership, and investment capital to help scale the businesses. The Luno leadership team will remain entirely intact and Swanepoel will lead acquisition efforts in his role as CEO.

“The past seven years have been an incredibly exciting journey for Luno – helping millions of our customers get access to crypto for the first time,” said Swanepoel. “DCG has been an integral part of the Luno story during all of this time, and we’ve been fully aligned on our vision and culture since day one. Having the full backing of DCG just as we’re experiencing such a pivotal moment of growth in the industry is not just an exciting and important milestone for Luno, but more importantly it will significantly accelerate our ability to reach our goal to help upgrade 1 billion people to a better financial system by 2030.”

“We have been extremely impressed with Marcus and the Luno team since we made our initial investment,” added Silbert. “Marcus understands our culture and appreciates how well Luno fits into the DCG family. He is a focused, high integrity leader and exactly the kind of person we want running one of our companies at this critical moment when the crypto industry is at an inflection point.”

Founded in 2013, Luno has been backed by global tech giant the Naspers Group and Balderton Capital amongst others. During these last seven years, Luno has maintained its commitment to upgrading the world to a better financial system. The company believes that the legacy system was built for a non-digital age, ignoring the needs of modern individuals and adding unnecessary inefficiencies and gatekeepers. The world now has access to new technologies like Bitcoin and Ethereum that will fundamentally change how the world views and uses money. Like communication evolving from landlines to mobile phones, money is finally catching up with other information revolutions.

Luno maintains regional offices in Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, Jakarta, and Johannesburg, and will continue to focus on the existing geographies where it operates across Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Luno team has also developed an aggressive road map for future growth and will ultimately compete with financial services firms globally. Luno is actively hiring for positions all over the world.

About Digital Currency Group

DCG is a global enterprise that builds, buys, and invests in blockchain companies all over the world. Founded in 2015 by CEO Barry Silbert, DCG is the most active investor in the blockchain sector, with a mission to accelerate the development of a better financial system through the proliferation of digital assets and blockchain technology.

Today, DCG sits at the epicenter of the industry, backing more than 160 companies in 35 countries. DCG also invests directly in digital currencies and other digital assets.

In addition to its investment portfolio, DCG is the parent company of Grayscale Investments, Genesis, CoinDesk, and Foundry.

About Luno

Luno is a leading global cryptocurrency company on a mission to upgrade the world to a better financial system.

Co-founded by CEO Marcus Swanepoel and CTO Timothy Stranex, Luno launched in 2013 and has built a team of nearly 400 with its headquarters in London with regional hubs in Singapore and Cape Town. With over 5 million customers spanning in over 40 countries, Luno’s products and services make it safe and easy to buy, sell, store and learn about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

1 Source: Digital 2020: Global Digital Overview

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

AI: The New Insider Threat Facing Organizations25.2.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release

Thales 2026 Data Threat Report Finds 70% of Organizations Rank AI as Top Data Security Risk As AI systems gain broader access to enterprise data across environments, organizations must treat data visibility and encryption as core security elements. AI-enabled deepfakes and misinformation are increasing the effectiveness of identity-based attacks. Today, credential theft is the leading attack technique against cloud infrastructure (67%). Nearly 60% of companies report deepfake-driven incidents, and 48% experience damage from AI-generated misinformation Investment in AI security is growing, with 30% of companies allocating dedicated budgets; however, 53% are still relying on existing security budget According to the Thales 2026 Data Threat Report, organizations across various markets including automotive, energy, finance and retail say the rapid pace of AI-driven transformation is now their biggest security challenge. Based on the report’s research, conducted by S&P Global 451 Research,

Zuper and Vonage Reimagine Network Connectivity for Skilled Trades with Quality on Demand25.2.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release

Zuper to receive early access to Vonage Quality on Demand network API, for high-stakes field workflows - ensuring reliable network performance for live video, wearables, and inspections across industries like HVAC, electrical, general construction, roofing, manufacturing, and more Zuper, the AI operating system for the trades, and Vonage, part of Ericsson, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enter into a collaboration to integrate Vonage’s network APIs into the Zuper platform. The collaboration will provide Zuper with early access to Vonage network powered solutions, starting with Quality on Demand (QoD), where mobile network performance can be selectively applied to support critical field workflows, delivering improved latency, reliability, and connected experiences for mobile workforces. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260225852261/en/ QoD is the first advanced network API being integrat

Industrial Decarbonization: Calderion, WenCo and Terravent Invest in Graforce to Scale Plasma Pyrolysis Globally25.2.2026 08:07:00 CET | Press release

The investor consortium comprising the Paris-based Next Generation Fuels Industrial & Technological fund Calderion (Audacia), alongside infrastructure developer Terravent and WenCo Family Office, announces the closing of a strategic double-digit million-euro financing round for Berlin-based Graforce GmbH. The investment is dedicated to the industrial scale-up of Graforce’s proprietary plasma pyrolysis technology, addressing the growing global demand for cost-efficient low-carbon hydrogen, syngas, and carbon removal solutions that are compatible with existing industrial infrastructures. Disruptive alternative to conventional processes Graforce’s technology aims at replacing CO₂-intensive legacy routes such as steam reforming and classical gasification. By applying plasma to methane, biogas, flare gas, and landfill gas, the process converts these streams into their valuable molecular components instead of emitting them. The result is a high-efficiency production of clean hydrogen and syn

Mevion Medical Systems Announces CE Marking of the MEVION S250-FIT™ Proton Therapy System, Expanding Global Access to Compact Proton Therapy25.2.2026 08:00:00 CET | Press release

CE Marking enables marketing and clinical use of the world’s first and only LINAC vault-ready proton therapy system across the European Union Mevion Medical Systems, the global leader in compact proton therapy, today announced that the MEVION S250-FIT Proton Therapy System has successfully completed the conformity assessment process and has received CE Marking under Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (EU MDR). This regulatory milestone enables the marketing, sale, and clinical use of the MEVION S250-FIT system throughout the European Union, building on the system’s existing U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance granted in September 2025. The MEVION S250-FIT is the first and only proton therapy system designed to fit into a standard radiation therapy vault. By enabling cancer centers to use their existing infrastructure, the MEVION S250-FIT dramatically reduces the cost, complexity, and timeline traditionally associated with proton therapy adoption. This opens a new pathway for hospitals and cancer centers a

Bureau Veritas:Sector-Leading Organic Revenue Growth of 6.5% in FY 202525.2.2026 07:30:00 CET | Press release

Strong margin improvement to 16.3% in FY 2025Positive growth outlook with continued margin expansion in 2026New EUR 200 million share buyback Bureau Veritas (BOURSE:BVI): 2025 key figures1 › Full-year revenue of EUR 6,466.4 million, up 6.5% organically (with 6.3% organic growth in Q4). At constant currency, the growth was up 7.3% year-on-year and up 3.6% on a reported basis, › Adjusted operating profit of EUR 1,052.9 million, up 5.7% versus EUR 996.2 million in FY 2024, representing an adjusted operating margin of 16.3%, up 32 basis points year-on-year and up 51 basis points at constant currency, › Operating profit of EUR 992.4 million, up 6.3% versus EUR 933.4 million in FY 2024, › Adjusted net profit of EUR 631.4 million, up 1.7% versus EUR 620.7 million in FY 2024, › Adjusted EPS stood at EUR 1.42 in 2025, with a 2.8% increase versus FY 2024 (EUR 1.38 per share) and up 9.2% at constant currency, › Attributable net profit of EUR 588.0 million, up 3.3% versus EUR 569.4 million in FY 2

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye