Cryptocurrency Exchange Luno Announces Record Number of Transactions Amidst Covid-19

With many fearing a crash in cryptocurrencies amid the global pandemic, key figures from cryptocurrency platform Luno indicate a potential surge for leading cryptocurrencies.

Luno, which is home to over 3 million users across 40 countries worldwide, has seen trading volumes double since the start of March, with a 50% rise in its number of active users month-on-month. In Africa, the platform has seen a 25% increase in new customers from Q4 2019 to Q1 2020.

March was also Luno’s biggest month in terms of both trading volume since August 2019 and within Africa, BTC trading volumes increased by 100% from Feb to March. Luno also recorded its highest number of active users since April 2019, signifying that the perceived lack of confidence in cryptocurrencies is perhaps premature.

Marcus Swanepoel, Luno’s CEO, commented: “We live in unprecedented times, which has brought uncertainty to every aspect of our day-to-day lives. The markets have not seen this level of turbulence since the financial crash in 2008 and while cryptocurrencies – like any nascent technology – has its sceptics, the early data is reassuring.

Not only are many existing investors continuing to invest in leading cryptocurrencies, an entirely new audience is looking toward cryptocurrencies for the first time

“With Bitcoin slowly but surely decoupling from the stock market, we are cautiously optimistic that price volatility will subside and leading cryptocurrencies will soon stabilise whilst traditional currencies continue to fluctuate.

“What’s particularly encouraging is the number of people we’ve seen who are interested in learning about cryptocurrencies, which gives us an indication of how people are starting to think beyond the tried and tested way of managing money that yields no return.”

With many new interested parties turning toward crypto for the first time, the Luno Learning Portal serves as a go-to guide for anyone looking to take their first steps into the world of digitised assets.

“There’s been a big education gap surrounding cryptocurrencies for a few years,” adds Swanepoel.

“What can they be used for? How are they used? Where do I even buy cryptocurrencies from? Ultimately, the onus is on us – the exchanges, the platforms, the investors, the advocates – to aid and educate the general public about cryptocurrencies and how they can be used. If we want to see mass adoption of crypto, we need to make sure that people feel empowered to make informed decisions and not like they’re being excluded from a geeky tech club.”