Cryptocurrency Exchange platform, Luno to expand to Kenya, Ghana.

Cryptocurrency exchange platform, Luno is extending into Kenya and Ghana to extend its African footprint.

This follows the increment of Bitcoin by 99% over the past two months due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

Cryptocurrency exchange platform Luno is a digital currency company that facilitates storage and transactions such as buying, selling, and payments.

The exchange, which trades Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Litcoin, recently moved beyond South Africa and Nigeria to start operations in Zambia and Uganda.

Marius Reitz, General Manager of Luno, stated, “It’s markets we have a keen interest in, and Ghana and Kenya are high on our list, While the outbreak has been beneficial in terms of transactions doubling on the exchange, it’s become harder to travel to talk to key stakeholders.

According to Ritz, activities on the market are being boosted by people looking for digital ways to transact hence limiting human contact.

The company is one of the dozens of cryptocurrency platforms that have come into existence around the world in response to soaring demand.

Investors in South Africa are also using the digital currency as a barrier against price increases following a 23% depreciation in the rand this year against the dollar.

The company now employs 400 people, across seven offices in Africa,  Europe, and Asia.

Luno which was founded in 2013, now has over four million users, adding about a million customers as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has shut down economies around the world.

In 2015, Luno raised $3 million in funding, led by Cape Town-based technology investor Naspers, also a global internet group company.

Companies that own minority stakes of less than 20 percent in Luno include; Naspers, Balderton Capital UK LLP, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings Ltd., Venturra Capital, and Digital Currency Group.