Luno inks Genesis partnership to enable crypto holders earn interest from assets

Luno’s over 4 million customers across the world will now be able to earn interest from their cryptocurrency holdings after the global exchange sealed a partnership with Genesis, a full-service digital asset broker.

The partnership also deepens Luno’s financial technology footprint beyond cryptocurrency exchange services to wealth management for its customers.

A statement BusinessDay received from Luno, the partnership creates savings accounts providing institutional-level interest rates to clients in traditional and emerging markets. These innovative savings accounts will provide traditionally underbanked customers in emerging markets access to banking to banking services via the market infrastructure built for the global cryptocurrency community while providing another potential source for generating a yield on crypto holdings for customers in all markets. 

Since it launched the first OTC bitcoin trading in 2013, Genesis has grown to become the first and largest institutional digital asset lender, with zero defaults across the history of its lending business. 

“By combining Genesis’s infrastructure with Luno’s footprint in more than 40 countries, we’re creating a fairer, more inclusive financial system by providing access to interest-bearing products to historically underbanked and unbanked populations,” Michael Moro, CEO Genesis said.

Genesis book of active trading loans increased by 118 percent from the end of the first quarter of 2020 to $1.4 billion at mid-year, according to the firm. The partnership with Luno opens up an opportunity for the digital asset lender to expand its offerings to customers in Africa where digital lending is starting to gain momentum as a result of a wider effort to drive financial inclusion. 

With headquarters in London, regional hubs in Singapore and South Africa, Luno also has a physical presence in countries like Nigeria where millions of people and businesses lack access to credit. Marcus Swanepoel, CEO Luno says the partnership allows the exchange to offer more diversified financial products to customers.

“We’re dedicated to providing innovative financial solutions to consumers all over the world – whether they are in Africa, Asia, or Europe – regardless of their local currency,” Swanepoel said. “We specialise in making cryptic safe and easy to use.”

While the statement does not state how much interest customers could make from lending their crypto assets, usually lenders on the Genesis platform often get returns of 6 percent to 12 percent on those loans. 

“Digital currency investors have become increasingly sophisticated, seeking not just liquidity from exchanges, but also a competitive yield on their crypto assets,” Leon Marshall, head of Institutional Sales at Genesis, said. “Our global focus has helped us become the largest trading and lending firm in the digital asset space, and we are both privileged and excited to be working with a global leader like Luno.”