Naspers-backed cryptocurrency exchange Luno has been acquired by New York-based digital asset investment firm Digital Currency Group.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. DCG has backed more than 160 blockchain companies and is the parent of units including asset manager Grayscale Investments, crypto broker Genesis Global Trading and industry publication CoinDesk. DCG first invested in Luno in its seed round in 2014.
Luno, based in London with hubs in Singapore and Cape Town, has almost 400 employees and more than five million customers, according to the report. The firm is also backed by technology investor Naspers, as well as others including Balderton Capital UK, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings and Venturra Capital, according to Luno’s website.
Luno will continue to be led by CEO Marcus Swanepoel.
The acquisition comes amid a recent downturn in the price of bitcoin from around the US$12 000 level. The digital coin has dropped 17% from its most recent mid-August peak and was trading at $10 181 at 11.05am in London. — Reported by Eric Lam, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP