Luno has secured a Bermuda crypto licence, a Class F Digital Asset Business approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).
The licence gives Luno a regulated base outside its traditional markets in Africa and Asia Pacific, marking a clear shift toward global institutional digital-asset infrastructure.
From African Crypto Platform to Global Digital-Asset Business
Luno was founded in Africa in 2013 and has spent more than a decade building its consumer crypto business around regulation, security and digital-asset access.
Now, the company is moving beyond that original model.
Luno recently reorganised around three business lines, with greater emphasis on institutional and B2B services. These include Crypto as a Service and Global Settlements, which are designed to serve businesses and financial institutions rather than only individual crypto users.
The Bermuda licence fits directly into that strategy.
Instead of simply giving Luno another market for retail trading, the new entity can support services that connect institutions to digital assets and global settlement infrastructure.
Why the Bermuda Crypto Licence Matters to Luno
Bermuda has developed a regulatory framework specifically for digital-asset businesses.
The BMA’s Class F licence allows companies to conduct a broad range of activities under Bermuda’s Digital Asset Business Act. These include digital-asset exchange services, custody, payment services, derivatives and other digital-asset activities.
For Luno, that creates a regulated foundation for serving customers outside its established African and Asia-Pacific markets.
The company says the Bermuda entity will support its institutional and B2B businesses as it extends its infrastructure to global partners and expands cross-border settlement capabilities.
Luno Is Building Around Institutions
The strategic shift is also visible in the products Luno is prioritising.
Through its institutional business, the company is moving towards services that can sit behind other financial businesses.
Crypto as a Service can allow partners to offer digital-asset capabilities without building the entire infrastructure themselves. Meanwhile, Global Settlements targets the movement and settlement of digital assets across borders.
This changes Luno’s position in the market.
Rather than competing only for retail crypto traders, the company can become part of the infrastructure used by businesses and institutions entering digital assets.
The Bermuda Licence Expands What Luno Can Offer
Under the new licence, Luno International can provide OTC trading, global spot markets and wallet infrastructure. Its OTC offering also covers crypto, tokenised stocks and commodities, as well as ZARU, a rand-backed stablecoin associated with Luno’s institutional strategy.
The company can therefore combine trading, custody and settlement capabilities under a regulated framework.
That matters as institutional demand for digital assets increasingly moves beyond simply buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
Stablecoins, tokenisation and regulated custody are becoming important parts of the broader digital-asset infrastructure market. Luno has also been positioning itself around these areas through its institutional initiatives and stablecoin work.
Expansion Does Not Mean Leaving Africa
Luno’s international strategy does not mean abandoning its African base.
In fact, the company has continued to pursue regulatory approvals in key African markets. In July, Luno Nigeria received Approval in Principle from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission through the regulator’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme.
The difference is that Luno is no longer building its business around Africa alone.
Bermuda gives the company another regulated jurisdiction from which it can support international clients and partners.
That creates a broader model: local market operations combined with globally accessible digital-asset infrastructure.
A More Global Luno
Luno’s Bermuda move comes during a period of significant restructuring.
The company has been shifting resources towards B2B and institutional services while reducing its dependence on the traditional retail exchange model. Reports in July said Luno cut about 20% of its global workforce as part of that restructuring.
The latest licence therefore fits into a much bigger transition.
Luno is trying to evolve from a crypto platform that gives consumers access to digital assets into a company that can provide the infrastructure behind institutional crypto activity. Bermuda is one piece of that strategy.
The bigger story is Luno’s attempt to take more of the digital-asset infrastructure market beyond the African ecosystem where it built its name.
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Editorial Takeaway
Luno’s Bermuda licence is significant because of what it enables, not simply because it adds another regulatory approval.
The company is building a regulated international footprint around institutional trading, custody, settlement and B2B digital-asset services.
For a company founded in Africa and long associated with retail crypto adoption on the continent, that marks a notable change in direction.
Luno is increasingly positioning itself not just as a place to buy crypto, but as infrastructure through which businesses can participate in the global digital-asset economy.
