Luno built a crypto exchange. Now it wants to sell crypto as a service.

Luno, a cryptocurrency firm operating in Africa, once built a retail crypto exchange but is now pivoting to sell digital asset infrastructure to banks, asset managers, fintechs, and large enterprises. Ayotunde Alabi, CEO of Luno Nigeria, explained that the company aims to provide institutions with tools to offer digital assets to their customers, issue stablecoins, and facilitate cross-border transactions.

Alabi stated that Luno would serve as the "rail" for institutions to enter the virtual asset space. This shift marks a change from the company's retail-focused business model, which centered on retail customers buying and selling cryptocurrencies. However, retail remains part of Luno's strategy, but institutions are now becoming a major customer segment for the infrastructure Luno has developed.

In July, Luno reduced its global workforce by 20%, including a 5% reduction in its Nigerian, Kenyan, and Ugandan teams. Despite the restructuring, Luno plans to continue investing in retail products while expanding its business-to-business (B2B) offerings. The company's new strategy revolves around three related businesses: Luno, stablecoin issuer BlockTower, and payments company GTXN, which Luno acquired in September.

Luno's institutional offering consists of three parts: Crypto-as-a-Service, a cross-border settlement network powered by GTXN's payments capabilities, and stablecoin issuance through BlockTower. Ayotunde Alabi revealed that Luno plans to issue stablecoins backed by local currencies in various African markets, including a possible naira-backed stablecoin for Nigeria and a ringgit-backed stablecoin for Malaysia.