Luno Cuts 20% Workforce to Pivot From Retail Slump to Institutional Automation

Woofun AI reports that cryptocurrency exchange Luno is eliminating approximately 20% of its global workforce, a strategic contraction driven by declining retail trading volumes and an accelerated shift toward automation and institutional business. CEO James Lanigan confirmed the restructuring to Bloomberg, attributing the reduced resource requirements to operational improvements implemented over the past year, though he declined to specify the exact number of employees affected. The firm intends to maintain investment in retail products and regulatory compliance while simultaneously expanding its business-to-business offerings.

This reduction marks the second major downsizing event for the exchange in three and a half years, following a 35% staff cut in January 2023 that Lanigan described as a response to an "incredibly tough year" in the market.

Structurally, Luno is merging its 16 million-user retail platform with a white-label service designed for banks, fintechs, and telecommunications companies. Under this new model, Luno provides the underlying liquidity, wallets, and compliance infrastructure, allowing partner institutions to offer crypto products under their own brands.

The decline in retail trading mirrors broader industry contractions, evidenced by the wind-down of operations at exchanges BitMEX and BitMart. In contrast, Luno’s B2B strategy gained traction when South Africa’s Discovery Bank integrated access to more than 50 cryptocurrencies through the platform in December 2025, having announced the partnership the previous month. Per Woofun AI, this integration serves as a key example of the firm’s pivot, which also includes ceasing services in certain markets from Sept. 1 to concentrate resources on Africa and Southeast Asia.

Digital Currency Group acquired the exchange in 2020, positioning it within a larger ecosystem of crypto infrastructure firms. Luno has not responded to requests for comment at the time of writing. This consolidation reflects a broader trend where exchanges prioritize high-margin institutional services over volatile retail demand.