Crypto Exchange Luno Rejiggers Leadership Roles as It Seeks to Boost Investor Base, Eyes Public Listing

Retail-focused cryptocurrency exchange Luno has promoted its top two executives and taken other steps to boost growth and prepare for a future public listing, the company said in a press release shared with CoinDesk.

Luno CEO Marcus Swanepoel is taking on a new role as executive chairman, and Chief Operating Officer James Lanigan has been promoted to CEO.

“Co-founding and serving as the CEO of Luno for the past ten years has been the greatest honor of my career and I’m excited for our next chapter as we continue to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands,” Swanepoel said in the release.

In December, Luno’s co-founder and chief technology officer, Timothy Stranex, left the company to “pursue personal projects.”

Luno has hired Canaccord Genuity Group to help attract new institutional and strategic investors in order to finance growth, facilitate expansion, expedite market share acquisition and ready the company for a future public listing, the firm said in the release.

Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) invested in Luno in 2014 and bought the company outright in 2020. DCG also owns CoinDesk.

“Having first invested in Luno’s seed round in 2014 followed by an acquisition in 2020, we want to thank Marcus for his dynamic leadership and enduring enthusiasm for the global crypto landscape as he transformed Luno into a digital asset powerhouse,” DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert was quoted as saying in the release. “With James at the helm and strategic partnership from Marcus in his new role as executive chairman, we look forward to supporting Luno in its ambitious and continued growth journey.”

CORRECTION 15:05 UTC March 22: Fixes typo in company name in second paragraph.