Cryptocurrency exchange Luno, previously backed by Naspers but now owned by New York-based digital asset investment firm Digital Currency Group, has launched a savings wallet, offering customers interest of up to 4%/year on their bitcoin holdings.

“The offering allows Luno customers with bitcoin to earn passive income on their balance with little effort and no penalties,” the company said on Monday.

“Because of the nature of bitcoin, we are able to offer a much higher interest rate than traditional savings accounts in certain regions (Europe, for example) and comparable to flexible interest offerings in emerging markets such as South Africa,” the company added.

A high percentage of South Africans who own cryptocurrency do so for speculative investment purposes, with the majority holding their bitcoin for the long term, according to Luno.

“Less than 5% of Luno’s South African customers plan to sell their bitcoin in the next six months. In fact most plan to buy more, so the savings wallet means they can earn interest by simply doing what they were planning to with their bitcoin,” said Luno Africa GM Marius Reitz in a statement.