Luno co-founder Marcus Swanepoel moved from chief executive into a new role as executive chairman on March 22, 2023. Chief Operating Officer James Lanigan took over as CEO on March 22. Lanigan had been with Luno for five years, the company said in its own announcement1. Swanepoel had led the exchange for a decade. “Co-founding and serving as the CEO of Luno for the past ten years has been the greatest honour of my career and I'm excited for our next chapter as we continue to put the power of crypto in everyone's hands,” he said.
Three leadership moves at Luno on the record since 2023
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Jan. 25, 2023 | Layoffs. Layoffs at Luno became public |
| March 22, 2023 | Swanepoel left as CEO. Marcus Swanepoel left as Chief Executive Officer of Luno |
| March 22, 2023 | Lanigan became CEO. James Lanigan was named Chief Executive Officer of Luno |
11 CEO exits on the record in 2023
CEO exits CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2023: 11
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
CoinDesk reported on March 22, 2023, that Luno had “promoted its top two executives and taken other steps to boost growth and prepare for a future public listing.” The outlet cited a press release the exchange shared with it2. Luno had hired Canaccord Genuity Group to help attract new institutional investors, CoinDesk wrote. The goal was to finance growth and ready the company for that future listing. Barry Silbert, founder and chief executive of Digital Currency Group, Luno's owner since 2020, praised the outgoing chief executive in a statement CoinDesk quoted from the release. “Having first invested in Luno's seed round in 2014 followed by an acquisition in 2020, we want to thank Marcus for his dynamic leadership and enduring enthusiasm for the global crypto landscape as he transformed Luno into a digital asset powerhouse,” Silbert said.
Another departure at the top came first. CoinDesk reported that Luno's co-founder and chief technology officer, Timothy Stranex, had left the company in December 2022 "to pursue personal projects"2.
Luno before and after
Digital Currency Group had owned Luno outright since 2020. DCG first invested in Luno's 2014 seed round, Silbert's statement said2. Swanepoel kept a role at the exchange as executive chairman. Silbert's statement described Lanigan's new position as working "with strategic partnership from Marcus in his new role". Lanigan inherited a company DCG wanted ready for a future public listing. A new outside bank was already hired to help attract investors.
What came next
In July 2026, more than three years later, Lanigan was still Luno's chief executive, and still cutting costs. Cointelegraph reported on July 29, 2026 that Luno was cutting about 20 percent of its global workforce. The outlet cited a Bloomberg report quoting Lanigan. Automation and other operational changes, he said, had altered the resources Luno needed to run the business3. Luno had cut 35 percent of its staff, nearly 330 employees, in January 2023, the outlet noted, two months before Swanepoel's handover to Lanigan. By the time of the July 2026 cuts, Cointelegraph reported, Luno served about 16 million users across Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Luno had expanded beyond retail trading into infrastructure and institutional services for banks and fintech firms.
Sources
- Team Luno, "Luno announces leadership transition," Luno, March 22, 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20260710074414/https://discover.luno.com/luno-announces-leadership-transition/
- Sam Reynolds, "Crypto Exchange Luno Rejiggers Leadership Roles as It Seeks to Boost Investor Base, Eyes Public Listing," CoinDesk, March 22, 2023, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/03/22/luno-crypto-exchange-elevates-top-execs-as-it-seeks-to-boost-investor-base-for-new-growth-future-public-listing
- Cointelegraph (via TradingView), "Luno cuts 20% of staff as crypto layoffs spread across 12 firms in July," July 29, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMizwFBVV95cUxNWVNGOVJaMlRSaWZEbmpvMFE2NmtwMF9acFpPOFdaTlkwR05HaTl3SnBNZG82NERlejNzWmJrU2NETzJHN3RGekVPcVF5S0N1MGtWYzU0bU1nVURXY2JsSXpYSk8wTDRMQUhtTnV5c2ZIWW9IT3VITUFjdVo1VkU2WDRkS3h4Q1Rxai1YN2ZXS3AyUWlBZE9VV3d6c2stU2FnVE5WTnhnWGM0VlVSNjJVVVVLMjcyakZEaTFfc2s2RzEtalNwVERXSlhRLXF6ZjQ?oc=5