Luno now backed by Google’s Capital G, SoftBank and GIC

Crypto firm Luno said yesterday that its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) had recently closed a significant secondary investment round of more than $700 million (R10.7 billion) and was now valued at $10bn. Photo: Luno

Crypto firm Luno said yesterday that its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) had recently closed a significant secondary investment round of more than $700 million (R10.7 billion) and was now valued at $10bn. Photo: Luno

Published Nov 4, 2021

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Crypto firm Luno said yesterday that its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) had recently closed a significant secondary investment round of more than $700 million (R10.7 billion) and was now valued at $10bn.

For Luno this meant access to the capital needed to fuel continued expansion as well as the expertise and backing from a syndicate of equity investors including SoftBank, Google’s Capital G and GIC, it said.

Luno said DCG founder and chief executive Barry Silbert did not sell any shares as part of the secondary transaction.

In addition to its venture portfolio and subsidiary companies, Luno said DCG had also expanded its investment focus and was expanding seed stage investing into new and emerging geographies as well as building a team focused on public equity investing.

DCG will also continue to uncover opportunities through new increased investments in digital tokens and other digital assets.

DCG has now invested in more than 200 blockchain companies in more than 30 countries around the world.

Luno has customers in Africa, Asia and Europe. The company has grown from 2 million to more than 9 million customers worldwide since 2019 and Luno said it was expanding to the US in 2022.

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