Luno appoints new CEO as it seeks funding and prepares for “eventual” listing
Luno co-founder Marcus Swanepoel (pictured) has stepped aside as CEO to become the company’s executive chairman.
Chief operating officer James Lanigan, who has been with the company for five years, is the new chief executive of the cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider.
Luno said that Swanepoel would continue to work closely with Lanigan to guide the company’s vision and strategy while focusing on broadening Luno’s investor base to support the company’s next stage of growth.
In addition, Luno hired Canaccord Genuity Group to help bring on new institutional and strategic investors alongside Digital Currency Group (DCG) to fund scaling, support expansion, accelerate market share gain, and prepare the company for an eventual public listing.
Luno is a wholly-owned investment of DCG. DCG acquired Luno in 2020 following its Series B funding round and after first investing in the company’s seed round in 2014.
DCG provided capital, strategic guidance, and other resources to evolve its business model, Luno said.
“DCG supported Luno scaling to $100 million revenue with a 40% operating margin and more than 11 million wallets across 40 countries,” the company said.
“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,” said DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert.
“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.”
DCG was embroiled in a battle over the bankruptcy of crypto lending subsidiary Genesis Global with the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.
While the two companies reached an agreement in February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged both companies with securities law violations in January.
Luno offered a similar interest-earning “savings account” that the SEC is going after Gemini for — also with Genesis as a partner.
However, unlike Gemini, Luno was able to avoid catastrophe.
Luno killed its Savings Wallet product two weeks after Genesis halted redemptions but before it went into bankruptcy.
Luno Savings Wallet customer could all withdraw their funds, while people using Gemini Earn could not.
“Co-founding and serving as the CEO of Luno for the past ten years has been the greatest honour of my career, and I’m excited for our next chapter as we continue to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands,” said Swanepoel.
“The opportunity for crypto is bigger and brighter than ever, and James is a seasoned operator and an outstanding leader with a track record of success across all aspects of running a truly global fintech business.”
“I have the utmost confidence that James will continue to deepen our trust with customers and key stakeholders alike, driving both Luno’s business and the industry forward.”
Luno said that Lanigan established Luno as a leading brand across multiple markets, building local teams throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia Pacific, while also growing Luno’s product portfolio.
Lanigan oversaw operations, commercial, countries, product, marketing, and customer success departments.
Before joining Luno in 2018, Lanigan held senior commercial, operational and marketing roles across multiple industries, most recently as the chief marketing officer at Bookatable — now TheFork, a global online restaurant reservation platform acquired by Michelin in 2016.
“It has been a privilege to serve alongside a founder and leader as strong as Marcus, who cares so deeply about making a positive impact for our customers and employees,” said Lanigan.
“I’m passionate about continuing to help Luno build the products and services that guide our customers in a responsible way along every step of their crypto journey, while maintaining our dedication to trust, security and compliance.”
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