A subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, Luno announced the launch of an investment arm to assist crypto and financial technology startups today. Dubbed ‘Luno Expeditions’, the newly introduced investment arm will facilitate the development of the global crypto, Web3 and financial technology ecosystem.
Luno highlighted the need for innovative and technology-driven solutions in the global financial sector. The cryptocurrency services provider noted that Luno Expeditions will leverage Digital Currency Group’s 7 years track record of early-stage crypto investing into over 200 companies.
Luno Expeditions has already made over 20 investments and the company is planning to increase the number to nearly 300 investments per year. Luno has almost 800 employees and a presence in different countries around the world.
Marcus Swanepoel, the Co-Founder and CEO of Luno, said: “Luno Expeditions is our way to help address many of these problems for founders of the next generation of fintech and crypto companies. We’ll be investing in early-stage rounds (seed, pre-seed; often a founder’s first cheque) across the world, into crypto/web3 companies but also fintech companies that we believe are ultimately also helping move the crypto industry forward.”
Last week, Singapore-based financial technology firm CakeDeFi launched a $100 million venture capital arm to invest in emerging crypto, fintech, gaming and Web3 startups.
Fintech and Crypto Ecosystem
Amid growing global adoption, the demand for efficient financial technology and cryptocurrency products has increased substantially.
“What many people don’t realize is that the crypto industry is still incredibly reliant on the more traditional financial services and fintech space. We leverage them for payment rails and processing, compliance and security solutions, fraud detection and much more. There are also some fintech companies that are set to usher in the next wave of cryptocurrency adoption through transactions: this includes newly founded and nimble remittance and e-commerce companies,” Swanepoel added.
