Luno Review

Luno is a well-designed and user-friendly cryptocurrency wallet and exchange with a global presence that allows anyone to become a crypto investor.

Luno also boasts many standout features versus competitors such as their numerous security features, savings wallet, instant buy and sell, repeat buys, price alerts, and their news and learning resources authored by industry experts all within three click’s reach.

We spent hours exploring and testing the various features of Luno’s product offering, and added a small investment of R250.00 over three months into a Luno Bitcoin Savings Wallet. Here’s our review of Luno.

Warning! Investing in digital assets is highly risky and speculative. A qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity. Please do your own diligence before making any investment decisions. The Frontline is not accountable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss incurred, alleged or otherwise, in connection to the use or reliance of any content you read on the site.

About Luno

Founded in 2013 and with offices around the world, Luno has made investing into cryptocurrency simple for millions around the world. Luno is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group.

Luno is available on web, and mobile app for IOS devices from the Apple App Store, or Android devices via Google Playstore.

Cryptocurrencies

Luno has a great selection of a few of the leading cryptocurrencies by Market Cap. New cryptocurrencies are added regularly. The cryptocurrencies and currently available on Luno are:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Etheruem (ETH)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Link (LINK)
• UNI (UNI)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• USD Coin (USDC)

Buying & Selling Crypto On Luno

Luno gives users two methods to purchase and trade cryptocurrencies. An instant buy and sell method and via Luno’s exchange platform.

With Luno’s Instant Buy and Sell, after you have deposited money into your account, simply select the amount of crypto you you would like to buy, for example ZAR 100 of Bitcoin (BTC), and click “Buy“. As soon as your transaction has been approved, you’ll see your Bitcoin (BTC) in your wallet.

The exchange is more in-depth and may be overwhelming to newcomers. However, it is worthwhile to note that Luno’s exchange is easy to navigate and provides you with all the information you need to make informed crypto trades all in one place.

The current available pairs to trade on Luno’s exchange are:

Fees

Luno has a specific fees and limits page for all of the regions they operate in. Australia, Europe, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Buy/Sell fees range from 0.75% to 2% per region. Below we’ve listed Luno’s deposit and withdraw fees:

Luno deposit fees

Luno withdrawal fees

Trading Experience

The mobile app is well designed and makes interacting with cryptocurrency as simple as clicking a few buttons. No need to create and save private keys for your wallets, or multiple different passwords to login to your account.

The Mobile app allows us to easily set price alerts for market movements for the various cryptocurrencies available on Luno.

The app also allows us to learn about crypto, follow the news and stay up-to-date with the market all within one app allowing investors to make informed decisions on the go. Best of all, the content is produced by Luno, so you know you can trust it.

When it comes to security, Luno states the following, “We value your trust above all else and always make security our top priority”. We are able to sleep easy knowing that Luno stores 95% of crypto in “deep freeze” – multi-signature wallets which is protected by many layers of encryption.

Furthermore Luno complies with AML and KYC regulations in the regions they operate in as well as conduct regular asset verifications by independent auditors.

Luno allows users to enable Two-factor authentication on their account, unlock their app and confirm transactions with biometrics or make use of a 4-digit pin code.

Additionally, Luno also let’s you manage the devices you use to access your account, by monitoring which devices you used to access the account and giving you the option to remove any devices you do not recognize.

Standout Features

Luno is a global company with a physical local presence in the markets they operate in. This instills confidence in their users knowing that they are not simply a foreign entity which could just close up shop and run away with their crypto investments.

Adding to locality, their website has a page specific to each region again proving their commitment to build the best products and deliver the best user experience for those that interact with their brand.

Another standout features is Luno’s blog, and market news called Luno Discover. Luno Discover combines market insights, news, help resources and learning guides on topics like “What’s a digital asset and why are people investing in them?”.

This is a great unique selling proposition from the company and a key differentiator from Luno’s competitors.

Fewer cryptocurrencies, done right. When investing in cryptocurrency, there is a lot of projects, and types of digital assets one can invest in – such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, tokens, or Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) like Digital Art.

Something many platforms in the crypto world do is try to jump on the latest booming project before it has had enough time to stabalise and reach maturity through a regular user base and ongoing maintenance and development.

These platforms can sometimes be overwhelming to newcomers and when a project suddenly ends without warning or proper security – investors may end up losing large sums of money.

With Luno, we can be assured that the team only adds that are proven and carries less risk than a new coin launched a month ago.

Next, you are able to send bitcoin or your desired crypto to anyone who has the Luno Mobile App absolutely free of charge by simply adding their phone number or email address.

Transfers are instant and works really well. Props to the Luno team for this amazing feature, definitely my most used feature to date!

Their last really awesome standout feature is the ability to set up repeat buys. Repeat buys allow you to buy crypto easily on repeat whenever you want – like on a monthly basis for example – saving you time. A pretty nifty feature for the lazy investor and the long-term thinker.

Luno Rewards

Luno has a referral program that allows users to easily refer friends and family by sending an invite code. Currently, for every person you refer, you both get R25.00 in bitcoin (BTC) once the person you referred signs up, deposits and buys R500.00 in cryptocurrency from Luno’s Instant Buy or Sell platform. It is important to note that the Luno exchange is not included.

According to Luno, more promos and ways to earn may come in the future.

Luno’s Savings Wallet

Luno offers users the ability to add a savings wallet for the following cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). With Luno Savings Wallets you’ll earn interest on the crypto that you transfer into the wallet.

The interest rate is variable – and changes depending on market conditions and because your holdings are in crypto, your crypto balance will continue to grow with the market (the opposite is true too for market downturns…) making it a win-win.

Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly on the first day of every month into your savings wallet allowing your investments to benefit from the compound effect. Currently we can earn up to 1.5% interest on BTC holdings, up to 2% interest on ETH Holdings, and up to 7.6% on USDC holdings per annum.

The crypto holdings in your savings wallet is to lent to clients around the world in order for them to increase their capital efficiency and access alternative liquidity for hedging, speculation, as well as institutional market making and working capital needs. through Luno’s lending partner Genesis. Genesis is currently the world’s largest digital asset lender.

You are able to withdraw your full crypto balance from your Luno Savings wallet at any moment.

We tried Luno’s Savings wallet and invested ZAR 250.00 over three months, Apr-Jun 2022. During this time the market fell by 50%, so we lost half our investment. Nevertheless – a total of ZAR 0.39 interest was earned on our Bitcoin holdings. This is great illustration of earning during market downturns and the kind of market volatility you will face time-to-time.

Final Verdict

Luno is the perfect crypto exchange for new and experienced traders and investors. Luno’s easy to navigate user interface on both web and mobile, along with the platform’s standout features such as their savings wallets, repeat buys, price notifications and ability to transfer crypto for free to other Luno users sets it apart from the competitors. Be sure to do your due diligence and compare crypto exchanges before getting started with Luno.

Earn ZAR 25.00 in Bitcoin which will automatically be added to your wallet after 30 days when you sign up with Luno.com using our link, deposit money into your Luno wallet, and buy ZAR 500.00 in crypto.