London-based cryptocurrency exchange, Luno said app installs rose 60 percent in January 2021 the same month the price of bitcoin went over the roof. The company also reaped an additional one million users to take its customers tally to a whopping 7 million in just seven weeks of reaching 6 million.
The growth in mobile app installs represents a 300 percent growth year-on-year when compared to January 2020. Unsurprisingly, the company said it has seen exponential growth in the cryptocurrency business in 2021 as prices of the top cryptocurrencies – five of which plus a stablecoin are listed on Luno – continue to replace previous all-time highs at record speed.
Africa contributed the most customers in 2020 to the global cryptocurrency exchange. Luno’s customer base grew by 2.3 million to 4.7 million between January 2020 and January 2021. App installs across the continent also rose by 271 percent alongside trading volume which grew over 12x from $555 million to $7 billion.
“The pandemic has exacerbated the need for digital currencies, and here at Luno, our mission is not only to help educate people about cryptocurrencies and how to use them today but in the long run leverage the power of this technology to upgrade the world to a better financial system,” Swanepoel said.
Luno’s growth has also been aided by the acquisition in September 2020 by Digital Currency Group (DCG). Since then, the company has seen the number of active users grow by 167 percent, whilst the number of app installs has increased 119 percent. By 25 January, the average Luno user held over $7,000 in their wallet, up 56 percent from 30 December 2020. Luno was ranked in the top six cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide in the latest CryptoCompare Exchange Benchmark, whilst also receiving the top tier AA rating.
“We want to make cryptocurrencies accessible in a secure and compliant way to everyone, regardless of who they are or where they are located. In 2021, we expect to continue this exponential growth, on track to reaching our goal of 1 billion customers by 2030,“ Swanepoel said.
