Luno celebrated its first anniversary in Malaysia and is the first digital asset exchange in Malaysia approved by the Securities Commission (SC). Since its relaunch in 2019, Luno Malaysia has processed transactions worth over RM827 million. Luno also claims to be the largest digital asset exchange in the country with over 180,000 users while controlling over 90% of the market share of the local regulated digital asset exchange. Globally, the cryptocurrency platform has over 5 million users.
According to the platform, they hold over RM 165 million worth of cryptocurrencies on behalf of its Malaysian clients. Luno currently supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC) for the Malaysian market.
During his live virtual media session, Aaron Tang, Country Manager of Luno Malaysia, stated that 80% of his client base is male and the majority are between the ages of 30 and 49. This indicates growth among seasoned professionals and they shared that the majority of users come from accounting, engineering, training, and entrepreneurs. 68% of users bought cryptocurrency on their platform for investment purposes while 10% bought it for trading.
Safety and security remain one of Luno’s strengths as they must comply with local regulations and security audits. Being an approved exchange, Luno must meet strict anti-money laundering laws and investor protection requirements. To keep its users informed, Luno in partnership with SC has developed a collection of educational and awareness-raising content shared across multiple channels.
Luno has also introduced trading signals in partnership with IntoTheBlock which are said to be useful for professional traders. There is also a stop-limit order and market order feature which provides technical tools for traders to trade more efficiently. Luno also introduced FPX deposit which reflects user deposits instantly compared to the previous 3-4 hours.
Moving forward, Luno plans to support new coins in 2021, but is subject to SC approval. Another interesting feature they plan to launch is a savings portfolio that is said to offer around 3-4% interest per year subject to market conditions. This feature has been implemented in other markets, but its availability in Malaysia is currently under review by local regulators.
According to Luno, the Savings Wallet is offered in partnership with Genesis, which is the largest digital asset lender in the world. The funds saved under the account will be loaned to Genesis and the interest paid by the borrowers will be piped back to Luno. Unlike a regular bank account, these cryptocurrency accounts are not covered by any deposit protection insurance.
Additionally, Luno is looking forward to adding new deposit and withdrawal channels to provide greater convenience and accessibility to users. During the recent Bitcoin price hike, Luno has also seen an increase in signups.
Bitcoin is currently valued at RM76.889, which represents an 87% increase over a 6-month period. Meanwhile, Ethereum is priced at RM2,585, which represents a 180% increase over the same period. For more information, you can visit the Luno website.