Luno, the London-based cryptocurrency exchange owned by Digital Currency Group — which acquired the platform in 2020 and also controls Grayscale Investments and CoinDesk — is cutting approximately 20% of its staff worldwide, chief executive James Lanigan told Bloomberg on Tuesday, declining to specify how many roles are affected.

Lanigan said the company has made "material investments in automation and broader operational improvements over the last year" and is developing tools "that are rapidly changing the resource model required to run the business effectively," which allows for a "leaner and adapted structure."

The exchange serves 16 million users across Africa and Asia-Pacific.

This marks Luno's second deep workforce reduction. The exchange shed 35% of its staff in January 2023, blaming an "incredibly tough year" for the crypto market.

From retail to plumbing

The restructure aims to scale Luno's business-to-business unit. The exchange plans to let lenders, fintechs, and telecoms firms offer crypto under their own brands, while Luno supplies the liquidity, wallet infrastructure, and compliance behind it — a "crypto-as-a-service" model that competitors including Binance and Coinbase have also built out to diversify beyond retail trading. Johannesburg's Discovery Bank is already a partner, and Lanigan said more will be announced through the year.

Luno also wants a position in non-U.S. stablecoins across emerging markets. It is a founding participant in ZARU, a rand-backed stablecoin whose other founders include Sanlam, Lesaka Technologies, and EasyEquities. The move targets a corner of the stablecoin market where dollar-pegged tokens like Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC leave gaps in local-currency liquidity. The company says it will replicate the model in other markets where local-currency infrastructure is thin. Lanigan added that the firm will use its institutional-settlement business to cut the cost of moving money across borders.

A wave of crypto consolidation

Luno joins a long list of crypto firms laying off staff. Crypto.com cut 12% in March, calling it a pivot to "enterprise-wide AI." Coinbase cut 14% in May, Dune Analytics 25%, and BitGo nearly 15% in June, with chief executive Mike Belshe framing the move around "AI-powered infrastructure." Block shed some 4,000 jobs in February, about 40% of its workforce.

The wave has seen exchanges chasing steadier revenue from institutions, payments, and infrastructure while retail trading remains volatile.

Others have stopped altogether. Crypto perps exchange BitMEX said last week it will close on September 23. Crypto exchange BitMart followed three days later with an orderly wind-down after nine years, indicating a "period of significant consolidation in digital assets," Roshan Dharia, CEO of investment firm Echo Base, told Decrypt.