👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Crypto winter at Luno

There was a time when crypto exchanges were obsessed with getting everyone to buy Bitcoin. Luno is still very much in the retail trading business, but it is trying to build additional revenue streams beyond individual crypto traders; its staff is the price to pay for that restructuring. 

What happened? Luno, the UK-headquartered crypto firm operating a regional base in South Africa, is cutting 20% of its global workforce as it reorganises the company. According to local publication TechCentral, part of Luno’s South African team was affected.

Why now? The company said it is restructuring after investing heavily in automation, and wants to build products and infrastructure for banks and other large businesses. 

Explain like I’m five: Luno makes money every time people buy or sell crypto on its platform. When Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are rising, excitement pulls more people into the market and trading volumes climb, but when prices fall, most people fold their hands. So, no trading. 

Luno pointed to that as its reason for the cuts. Bitcoin slipped below $59,000 in June, its lowest level since September 2024, while Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Dogecoin all posted steeper weekly declines. Those price drops tend to reduce trading activity, making it harder for exchanges that depend on transactions.

Not the first time: In 2023, after Bitcoin crashed from nearly $69,000 to below $17,000, the company cut 35% of its workforce during the crypto winter. This time might be different, though. The 2023 layoffs were about surviving a market crash, while the 2026 layoffs are about changing the business itself.