Luno, owned by Digital Currency Group and serving 16 million users across Africa and Asia Pacific, cut 20% of its global staff in late July 2026 as it tightens costs and pivots toward institutional clients, infrastructure and compliance. The move comes amid a cluster of exchange exits—AscendEX, BitMEX and BitMart shut down in July 2026—and while Luno frames the restructuring as a strategic bet on B2B growth, stablecoin (ZARU) participation and African expansion, the developments add to sector stress around regulation, MiCA compliance and exchange viability.

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In Brief

Luno is cutting 20% of its global staff, CEO James Lanigan confirmed.
The cuts land three weeks after AscendEX, BitMEX, and BitMart shut down.
Staff cuts across big tech have been common this year, but raise questions.

Chief Executive Officer James Lanigan confirmed a 20 percent cut to Luno’s global workforce this week. The move comes as the exchange leans further into institutional clients and tightens costs.

The announcement follows three unrelated platforms, AscendEX, BitMEX, and BitMart, announcing full shutdowns of their exchange operations in the same month.

A Cluster of Exchange Exits

There has been growing pressure on crypto exchnages due to market conditions, operating difficulties and even regulations. Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation ended its transition period on July 1, and AscendEX cited the change when it halted operations that same day.

BitMEX confirmed its shutdown three weeks later, and BitMart issued its own wind-down notice on July 26.

Three exchanges disappearing in a single month is a notable cluster. It raises an obvious question about whether Luno’s cuts fit the same pattern of exchange stress.

20% staff cut is brutal for Luno. This kind of restructuring usually signals serious trouble in crypto at this point in time. Wonder how they plan to manage global operations with that many people gone.
— MaxB (@adedejidavies) July 29, 2026

The comparison has limits and does follow a pattern seen across tech companies this year. Many major tech leaders have also trimmed their workforces, often citing AI integration. AscendEX, BitMEX, and BitMart are leaving the market entirely, while Luno is trimming staff but actually expanding its Africa footprint.

Lanigan described the changes at Luno as a choice, not a scramble, in comments to Bloomberg.

These factors mean that a leaner and adapted structure is both necessary and appropriate.

James Lanigan, Bloomberg

Trying to Stay Afloat

Digital Currency Group owns Luno, a retail exchange with 16 million users across Africa and Asia Pacific. Lanigan said the savings will go toward infrastructure, compliance, and a growing business-to-business (B2B) unit.

Discovery Bank in South Africa already works with that unit, and Luno expects to sign more institutional partners this year. Sanlam and Lesaka Technologies back a related project, ZARU, a rand-pegged stablecoin where Luno serves as a founding participant.

Luno’s bet looks calculated rather than desperate, but it comes at a time when the crypto space is very on edge with the recent wind-downs of household names.

Read the article at BeInCrypto