For over a decade, UK-headquartered cryptocurrency platform Luno focused primarily on building a retail crypto exchange for individual traders across Africa and international markets. Now, the 13-year-old firm is making a major strategic pivot toward institutional infrastructure.
According to Ayotunde Alabi, chief executive officer and country manager for Luno Nigeria, the company is aggressively expanding into B2B digital asset infrastructure. Rather than serving only individual traders, Luno wants to provide the core digital rails that allow banks, asset managers, fintechs, and corporate enterprises to offer crypto products, issue local stablecoins, and execute cross-border transfers directly for their own end users.
The Problem with Building In-House Infrastructure
For traditional financial institutions, entering the Web3 and digital asset space involves high barrier-to-entry costs, complex security protocols, and strict regulatory compliance. Building dedicated order-book exchanges, secure wallet custody, and liquidity pipelines requires massive capital investment and specialized technical expertise.
By partnering with an established provider, institutions can launch digital asset products without constructing the underlying backend technology from scratch. Luno’s pivot addresses this demand by packaging its decade-long technical infrastructure into a modular B2B service.
The Three Pillars of Luno’s Institutional Strategy
Following a global restructuring that streamlined its operational teams, Luno’s enterprise model relies on three interconnected business units:
- Crypto-as-a-Service: A white-label framework allowing traditional financial firms to integrate digital asset trading, custody, and wallet management into their existing apps.
- Stablecoin Issuance via BlockTower: Operating through its subsidiary BlockTower, Luno enables regional stablecoin creation. This includes local fiat-backed options like South Africa’s rand-backed ZARU, as well as planned tokens tied to the Malaysian ringgit and Nigerian naira.
- Payment Plumbing through GTXN: Acquired to strengthen Luno’s payment capabilities, GTXN provides local collections, virtual accounts, foreign exchange, and payout services connecting crypto rails directly to fiat banking networks.
How Cross-Border Settlements Work
Traditional cross-border settlement between emerging markets often requires sending money through multiple foreign correspondent banks, converting local currencies into US dollars first, and enduring days of delays along with high FX charges.
Luno’s integrated network aims to streamline this process significantly:
- Local Asset Purchase: A business in Nigeria acquires a rand-backed stablecoin using local currency (naira).
- Instant Rail Settlement: The stablecoin moves across the digital network within minutes, skipping intermediary international clearance banks.
- Local Payout: GTXN processes the payout to a vendor’s bank account in South Africa in local currency.
The Power of Connecting Retail and Institutional Markets
Luno is taking a similar evolutionary path to global platforms like Coinbase and Kraken by tapping into enterprise client revenue streams. Institutional sales offer consistent, long-term processing volumes compared to volatile retail trading cycles.
However, retail users remain essential to the ecosystem. The active retail base on Luno’s exchange supplies the necessary liquidity and trading volume required to settle institutional transactions smoothly.
Supported by regulatory milestones—including its CASP license in South Africa, registration in Malaysia, and admission into Nigeria’s SEC Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme—Luno is positioning its infrastructure to serve as the bridge between legacy finance and digital assets across emerging markets.
